Jersey Cop Called to Stop Breastfeeding Mom Offers His Support Instead

Michelle Ayala was enjoying a summer day at Franklin Pond Beach in New Jersey with her three kids and a friend when her 2-year-old daughter Daisy, who is still nursing, needed feeding. So Michelle did what any mom would do and fed her. To her surprise, she wound up as the subject of a police complaint.

Shortly after Ayala started to breastfeed, a Franklin Borough Recreation official came up and asked her to breastfeed elsewhere or cover up. “I see what you’re doing there, do you think you can do that somewhere else?” the official said.

Luckily, Ayala knows her rights. Not only is it legal to nurse in public in all 50 states (as of last month), but it’s been legal in New Jersey since 1997. (Specifically, women have the right to breastfeed in any place of “public accommodation, resort or amusement” where the mother is permitted to be.) Ayala replied that by law she was allowed to keep nursing, so the official took things to the next level and called the police. Little did the woman know, she was in for quite a surprise when the cop arrived on the scene.

The police officer who turned up to deal with the situation was also well-versed in the state’s breastfeeding laws. “I support you completely,” he told Ayala. “Thank you for your time, thank you for your patience. I know this is silly, these are your rights and are you okay?”

That wasn’t enough for beach officials, who sent an administrator over after the officer left. Again, Ayala was asked to leave or cover up, and again she reiterated her rights not to.

In a written statement, the administrator told the New Jersey Herald, “The borough has made significant efforts to make the Franklin Pond Beach a family-friendly area that is welcoming and accommodating to all…We regret the situation made any of the guests feel uncomfortable and are using this as an opportunity to remind all involved of a woman’s right to breastfeed under New Jersey law.”

Ayala, who breastfed all of her children, says this is the first time she’s ever had anybody speak out about her nursing in public, and wants to share her story to help first-time moms become aware of their rights. “There are nursing mothers out there who are brand-new,” she said. “And if someone…confronted that brand-new mom, she would never nurse again. Or, she would just stay in her house, with all her children!”

That sounds like a pretty lousy solution to a non-existent problem. If you need to nurse, nurse, regardless of where you are in the US. You don’t have to leave a public place, and you don’t have to cover up if you don’t want to. Get the lowdown on your own state’s laws on breastfeeding in public.

Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.