Mother asked to cover up at an outdoor restaurant while breastfeeding

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - A mother who says she was asked to cover up more while breastfeeding her child at an outdoor restaurant is speaking to 21 Alive News tonight.

This story has gotten a lot of attention on social media. Here’s some background.

Joslyn Roberts is a mother a three and recently just had her newborn. After lunch at the BK Rootbeer Stand in Huntington, she says her newborn wanted more than what was already in his bottle. So, as she has done in the past, she began to breastfeed at the picnic table outside. Roberts says, what happened to her next, has never happened to her before. She says someone with the business asked her to cover up more and she says after a few times back and forth with the woman, she decided to leave.

In a now-deleted post on Facebook, the restaurant made it clear they did not kick the mother out but instead asked her to quote “cover up”. The post also said, “I understand breastfeeding, but we have families coming up to the table with kids.”

Our Emilia Miles visited the business today and they said to her, “No comment.”

According to an Indiana law, a mother has the right to breastfeed her child anywhere she is legally allowed to be. There are no specifics regarding the age of the child, the amount of skin that can be seen, etc.

With this story came the attention. So much so, that a group of moms is planning a nurse-in at the restaurant. They’re not calling for a boycott, in fact, they want people to support the restaurant, they just want everyone to better understand a mom’s right to breastfeed in public. The event is slated for Saturday, June 3 at 5 p.m. and the organizer tells us she does not condone “cancel culture”. She wants everyone who wants to come to be respectful and to order food. She goes on to say this event is meant to educate the public and give the business an opportunity to support nursing mothers in the future.

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