Breastfeeding is a natural part of life. So, it’s pretty astounding that moms are still being told they can’t do it or feel ashamed when the need arises.
One California mom couldn’t believe her professor’s response when she told him she would need to breastfeed her baby during a 4-hour Zoom course online.
23-year-old Marcella Mares was taking an online course at Fresno City College in California.
The professor told the class they would need to keep their cameras and microphones on throughout the 4-hour class.
But, Mares emailed him and told him she would most likely have to turn her camera off to breastfeed her 1-year-old daughter. Four hours is a long stretch for a little baby to go without eating.
She thought it wouldn’t be a problem because she was still going to be online for the class, just with her camera off while her baby ate.
She never expected the response she got.
In an interview with TODAY Parents, Mares said her professor commented,
“You should not be doing that during class. Just do that on your own time or do it after class.”
His comments didn’t end there.
She tells TODAY Parents that during the class, the professor made this announcement,
“I had a really weird email from a student stating that she needed to do inappropriate things during class time,” (He said), “You need to be creative with your children and accommodate them so you can pay attention to my lectures.”
That obviously didn’t sit well with Mares who decided to take action.
She emailed him after class asking about the school’s rules and his rules against breastfeeding. He told her there were no rules and that he was just following the syllabus guidelines.
Feeling humiliated and embarrassed, Mares’ husband and cousin encouraged her to contact the school’s Title IX coordinator for support.
She shared her professor’s email and response. The Title IX coordinator contacted the professor and informed him that the law allows moms to breastfeed when needed.
Mares said the professor did end up apologizing and told her she could breastfeed when she needed.
He also told her she could turn off her microphone and camera when needed.
A spokesperson from Fresno City College told TODAY Parents they can’t share information about a specific student. But, they shared this statement:
“We did have a student who contacted our Title IX coordinator to complain that she was told not to breastfeed during her online class. The instructor asked the class to keep their cameras and microphones on to get the class to have better participation in the class. She wanted to turn off her camera to breastfeed and the instructor said no …
“Apparently, the instructor was not aware of the law pertaining to breastfeeding and now understands that his directive was not correct. He did contact her again and they agreed that she could turn off her camera.”
Mares shared her story on her personal Facebook page to bring awareness to the issue.
In her post detailing her situation, she said,
“I love my baby & would choose her health over anything or anyone, any day of any week!”
Many other moms out there would surely agree. Hopefully, her story raises awareness and educates other women on what they can do if they ever feel like their right to breastfeed is being denied or questioned.
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