Mom was barred from breastfeeding in park’s lazy river. Backlash led to rule changes
A Georgia water park has apologized after a woman said she was barred from breastfeeding in the park’s lazy river.
The July 14 incident stirred a spirited debate on public nursing, prompting Rigby’s Water World in Warner Robins to update its policy.
Steve Brown, a manager at the water park, acknowledged the rule was “misguided.”
“We immediately (as of last Friday) changed our policy and retrained our staff to allow breastfeeding in the water as well,” Brown told McClatchy News in an email. “We publicly and privately apologized to the Mother and thanked her for shedding light on the issue.”
The mother, Tiffany Francis, posted on Facebook about the ordeal she said left her “upset and appalled.” It drew mixed reactions, with many advocating for the rights of nursing moms.
‘I kind of laughed’
Francis was at the park with her 11-month-old son and decided to nurse him to sleep in the lazy river, she wrote. The slow-moving ride is a common water park attraction and popular among guests.
The nursing mom said motion helps lull her son to sleep, so she got on the ride as she had done on previous visits. This time, she was approached by a lifeguard who told her she couldn’t breastfeed there.
“I kind of laughed because I thought he was just making a joke in very poor taste,” Francis said in the Facebook post. “Then he got on the radio and had a lady come and tell me I wasn’t allowed.”
Francis asked if the rule was posted somewhere and was directed to the park entrance, according to her post. There she found the rules, which she said didn’t mention breastfeeding in the water.
After explaining the situation to an employee at guest services, Francis spoke with Brown. She said the manager told her while the rule was unwritten, it was enforced out of “courtesy” for other park guests, she wrote.
“It’s just something that they decided to say was a rule,” her Facebook post states. “So then (Brown) smartly said ‘well it says no food or drinks in the water.’ I asked ‘so my boobs aren’t allowed in the water?’”
What’s Georgia’s law on breastfeeding?
Georgia Code § 31-1-9 describes nursing as “an important and basic act of nurture.”
“A mother may breast-feed her baby in any location where the mother and baby are otherwise authorized to be,” it says.
According to Brown, the park offered other accommodations so Francis could nurse her son, including a lounge chair in a shady area on the deck.
“She was not barred from feeding her child in the park nor was she asked to leave the park,” he told McClatchy News.
Francis said the incident left her in tears, and she asked for a refund for her season pass but was denied.
“You’re also not allowed to bring snacks in for the baby, so I was told today,” she concluded. “I guess they’d rather babies just go hungry.”
Warner Robins is about 20 miles south of Macon.
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