Tonight on “What Would You Do?,” a mother is shamed by a male and a female customer for breastfeeding in public.
All 50 states, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands now have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location.
But, just last month, two mothers breastfeeding at a Minnesota pool were asked to cover up by another mother. After the women refused, a pool employee called the police.
“Apparently there is a mother breastfeeding in the shallow end and not being very discreet about it,” the pool employee told the 911 operator.
In tonight’s episode, we see what happened when diners witnessed a customer asking a mother to stop breastfeeding her newborn in public. Our actress, Kaira, played the mother who explained to our critical customer, first played by Michele and then Alfredo, that her baby was hungry and needed to eat.
Michele: “Do you really need to do that right in front of all of us? It’s making me uncomfortable.”
Kaira: “Yes, she’s hungry and I’m not finished with my lunch.”
Michele: “Maybe you should find a more private place to have lunch? Would you mind doing it in the bathroom?”
Throughout the day most people disagreed with Michele. One couple listened to our actors’ conversation and when they heard that Kaira was being condemned for feeding her baby at the table, the woman asked, “Would you want to eat your lunch in the bathroom? It’s not fair to the baby to eat in a stinky bathroom. That’s natural the way she’s feeding the baby.”
When a man played the disapproving customer, people had similar responses. One woman listened in and responded by saying, “It’s perfectly sanitary, let her be.”
When host John Quinones asked this woman, “There are some people who argue that this shouldn’t be done in public. What do you say to them?” she responded, “I think that all they’re doing is sexualizing something that’s perfectly natural.”
One customer went as far as sitting down at Michele’s table to try to stop her from shaming our breastfeeding mom. “How about I sit here and we’ll have a nice conversation, and then you don’t even need to see her. Can I make you as uncomfortable as you’re making her right now?”
He asked our bully what the difference was between her eating and the baby eating. He, like many, believed that the mother was doing what was best for the child, which “should always be the case.”
To see how other customers reacted, make sure to tune in to “What Would You Do?” tonight at 9/8c on ABC.
