As a breastfeeding mother, you have the legal right to breastfeed anytime, anywhere, whether you choose to cover up or not! According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, all women are legally protected from discrimination and harassment because of sex, and that extends into pregnancy and breastfeeding. So, if anyone asks you to “cover up” or move to a more private area, feel free to inform them of your rights and keep on advocating for you and your nursing child!

If/when you return to work, these legal protections still extend to you as you continue to provide breastmilk to your child. Recommendation 7.59 of the Federal Labour Standards Review states that “employers should provide for short breaks during working hours to afford nursing employees reasonable time off, without pay, to breastfeed a child and /or to express milk on the work site. Such breaks should be subject to operational considerations, but should not be unreasonably denied.” You are also to be provided a private space that isn’t a bathroom stall to do this. Women make up about 50% of our workforce, and choosing to return to work should not be an obstacle to a goal of long-term breastfeeding.

So, nurse on mothers! And make sure you frequent local restaurants and businesses that display the “Breastfeeding Friendly” decal on their window, in solidarity of Chatham-Kent families!”