If you are a breastfeeding mother, look for signs displaying this symbol in public places in the Plateau Mont-Royal area. The icon is the International Breastfeeding Symbol, and signifies that breastfeeding mothers and their nursing infants are welcome in the establishment that displays it. According to an article in La Presse, the initiative began with a call to the borough mayor’s office from a nurse in Victoria who is using similar window decals there.
A decal in the window of a cafe or other establishment does not mean special arrangements will be made for breastfeeding, but it does mean that mothers and their nursing children will no longer be asked to leave, or to nurse in the bathroom. It is a strong reminder to us all that breastfeeding is a normal part of everyday life. With a sticker welcoming breastfeeding, it is easier for employees to respond to complaints from squeamish clients. The policy of the owner is clear, for patrons and employees.
Similar stickers are showing up in other places across North America, for example in the Toronto area and in Oakland, CA. The sticker at right, distributed in the United Kingdom, carries a bilingual English-Welsh message welcoming breastfeeding moms. Decals available in South Carolina show a similar English & Spanish message. In Oklahoma, both decals and wallet cards are available in an initiative that highlights employers who make special accommodations for breastfeeding employees.
An interesting discussion about the negative side of using this type of decal can be seen online at ThePregnancyShow.com (unfortunately it seems to be cut off a bit at the end.) The argument presented is that women in the province of Ontario have the right to breastfeed anywhere. Essentially all public establishments in Ontario are, by law, breastfeeding friendly; the women on the show say that problems could arise if only some places display the decal. This could result in women choosing not to frequent an establishment not displaying the sign, but even more problematic would be the situation in which a women is asked to leave for breastfeeding because an employee or client mistakenly believes that breastfeeding is only permitted in select locations. So if you’re in Ontario, please get the message out: public breastfeeding is legal everywhere in the province. Asking a woman to stop, cover up, move to a bathroom, or leave is a violation of her human rights.
What is the legal status of public breastfeeding? Elizabeth Pantley says that public breastfeeding is legal everywhere in the United States, regardless of whether the state has specific breastfeeding legislation. In Canada breastfeeding is not necessarily a protected activity, although officially health agencies do recommend that “breast is best.” According to INFACT Canada, breastfeeding is a human right and is protected by CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which was both signed and ratified by Canada. Other conventions and regulations could be understood as protecting the right to breastfeed wherever a woman happens to be, but it’s going to take more work before the rest of Canada becomes, by default, breastfeeding friendly.
If you would like a copy of the International Breastfeeding Symbol, you can get one free from Mothering Magazine. The symbol is in the public domain. Besides images for print and web use, there are also cool charts for plastic canvas, cross stitch and crochet.
This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.
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