The 3 Minute Activist
The Ronald McDonald House doesn't allow breastfeeding in public? (July 28, 2020).

Executive Director of the RMH Houston Chapter, Naomi Scott nscott@rmhhouston.org Holcombe Director of Operations, Arlene Whatley awhatley@rmhhouston.org Holcombe Director of Operations, Arlene Whatley Holcombe Ronald McDonald House 1907 Holcombe Boulevard Houston, TX 77030 Dear Madams: Many families are upset by the news of a breastfeeding mother, Jessica Mayo-Swimeley, being told she could not nurse in common areas in the Ronald McDonald House in Houston, the Holcombe House, and Holcombe House management threatening to evict Mayo-Swimeley and her family if she continued to do so. Many in the parenting community, as well as the New York Times, are reporting on this situation. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19nurse.html ). This is all the more upsetting since the Mayo-Swimeley family was in the Holcombe House while 17-month-old Tobin Swimeley was receiving treatment for painful and life threatening brain surgery. Some are reporting that even after a meeting on April 16, 2020 with Whatley, the the Director of Operations, Scott, the Executive Director, Another RMH board member, Mayo-Swimeley, two representatives from La Leche League International, and some others, it was RMH Houston's policy decision that Mayo-Swimeley could stay in the house but would have to be "discreet" while nursing and she would have to inform others around her before she began to breastfeed. In addition it is reported that this permission to nurse in public areas only applied to Mayo-Swimely BUT that other current and future mothers in Holcombe House are still subject to A "verbal policy" which tells staff to to ask all breastfeeding mothers to go to their rooms to nurse. Please make an official written and public statement of A RMHC policy that breastfeeding is allowed in all RMH facilities, both in common areas and private rooms. Please do not add any conditions such as requiring a mother to meet some undefined level of discretion or requiring the mother to ask permission of those around her. Conditions such as those are; first, contradictory (how can a mother be discreet if she draws attention to herself first by announcing her intention to breastfeed); second, difficult to define as discretion is in the eye of the beholder; and third, illegal in many states including Texas. If RMHC facilities decide to provide areas for mothers to nurse in the houses, please do not require that nursing take place in those designated areas. Some mothers will appreciate a comfortable, convenient, semi-private place to nurse, but no mother should be required to be segregated if she is comfortable nursing whereever she is. You may find the information in this letter to businesses (http://promom.org/bf_info/for_businesses.html ) helpful. It was written to help prevent controversial situations such as the one in which you currently find yourselves. Please reply to let me know what the new official policy on breastfeeding is, and to let me know that all RMHC locations are complying with their respective state laws (http://llli.org/Law/LawUS.html ), such as that applicatable to the Houston house which states "a mother is entitled to breast-feed her baby in any location in which the mother is authorized to be" per Texas Health & Safety Code Section 165.002. Sincerely,
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