Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; September 9, 2007 -
BREASTFEEDING SUPPORTERS GATHER NATIONWIDE
seeking policy changes at Applebee's Restaurant chain

(press release)-

On Saturday, September 8, 2007, nearly 2000 breastfeeding supporters gathered in 44 states at 100 Applebee's to demonstrate support of breastfeeding in public.

The catalyst for initiating these demonstrations was an incident in Kentucky where an Applebee's manager violated state law by harassing Brooke Ryan insisting that she cover her baby with a blanket while she was breastfeeding him. When Ms. Ryan calmly cited the state law that protects breastfeeding mothers against harassment, the manager said he knew about the law, but told Ms. Ryan that someone had complained and so she would need to cover the baby with a blanket if she wanted to breastfeed there. Ms. Ryan then showed the manager a copy of the Kentucky state law she had recently received, issued by the state's department of health, which states in part, that breastfeeding "shall not be considered an act of public indecency and shall not be considered indecent exposure, sexual conduct, lewd touching, or obscenity." It further clarifies, "No person shall interfere with a mother breastfeeding her child in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise allowed to be." The manager continued to insist, in violation of this law, that she must cover her baby's head with a blanket. In light of this harassment, Ms. Ryan and her family left the Applebee's.

Ms. Ryan, using the services of a lawyer, posted a letter to Mike Scanlon, CEO of Thomas and King, Inc., the owner of the franchise. She received no response. A month later, in July, her lawyer wrote a second letter. The corporation's legal department finally wrote back stating, "...we are also considering keeping blankets in the restaurants for use by breastfeeding mothers who might not readily have them available...." Applebee's International, the franchisor, responded August 30, 2007 to a request for its reaction to the incident stating, "Applebee's and its franchisees love having families dine together at our restaurants. We believe that this franchisee made a reasonable and lawful request of this guest in order to promote a pleasant and comfortable experience for all of its guests." The following day, August 31st, a new corporate response was issued which read, "Applebee's strives to provide a comfortable and enjoyable environment for all our guests. Our policies regarding breastfeeding are consistent with the laws of the states in which we operate." Applebee's failed to acknowledge that the law was violated in this incident.

The proposed blanket solution was one which many breastfeeding supporters found insulting, unhealthy and unsanitary. Word began to spread as exasperated mothers shared the story with other mothers. Birth Without Boundaries, International (BWB), the sponsoring organization for the national event, made a call to breastfeeding supporters over the internet. Within days, a group of people over 1500 strong had joined the internet group rallying for this cause. "The outpouring of support for this issue was not surprising," said Salem Hamilton, Executive Director, BWB. "Women are ready to initiate some real change in our society regarding how breastfeeding is viewed. It is time to change the weak laws in this country from ones that no one knows or cares about to ones that cannot be ignored. It's time to have the right to breastfeed recognized as one of our basic civil rights. It is, after all, the first human right we are all born with, and it should be strongly protected."

As information regarding the event spread through the media and on internet message boards, some franchise owners acted by stating that they would make changes to adopt breastfeeding-friendly practices. But phone calls to individual Applebee's to ask, "Can you tell me what your restaurant's policy is regarding mothers breastfeeding their children?" yielded a wide range of inconsistent answers.

The group of individuals who formed this protest group would like to see lasting change with new policies and staff training on those policies in place for all restaurants in the Applebee's chain. They would also like the public to take note of existing state laws regarding breastfeeding, and the need for much stronger, enforceable laws which would truly protect women from harassment.

"We want breastfeeding to come out of the bathroom and out from under the blanket," states David Buckwalter, M.D., a physician from Pennsylvania, "Breastfeeding is a normal, natural, healthy part of parenting and is nothing to be ashamed of or covered up."

The World Health Organization (WHO) states, "Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants." WHO encourages exclusive breastfeeding for six months. "Thereafter infants should receive complementary foods with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond." Similar statements have been issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, The Center for Disease Control, and most other major health organizations. Much research has shown that the failure to breastfeed is a major risk factor in children contracting many diseases and illnesses, including the most common types of childhood cancers, obesity, diabetes, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and asthma.

The United States Department of Health states that societal pressure which discourages women from breastfeeding in public is a major factor for women who decide not to breastfeed. The United States continues to be plagued with very low rates of breastfeeding and subsequent mounting health, environmental, educational, and developmental problems associated with this fact.

Those breastfeeding supporters who volunteered to take part in Saturday's demonstration, the largest of its kind ever in the United States, were doing their part towards creating a cultural shift in the public perception of breastfeeding and changing the tide regarding this major issue.

Further questions can be addressed to www.birthwithoutboundaries.com

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Brooke Ryan and her son

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