If you hadn’t heard of Zephyrhills mother Ashley Kaidel before last week, you probably have by now.
On Tuesday, Nov. 24, Kaidel was eating at Fred’s Market in Plant City when she began breastfeeding her 5-month-old son, Phoenix.
As she fed Phoenix, Kaidel, 24, a Plant City native, said that she saw a woman give her a dirty look before leaving the restaurant.
That night, Kaidel posted on social media a photo of herself breastfeeding her son at Fred’s Market. In her post, Kaidel said that women should not have to feel pressure to cover up while feeding their babies.
“There is nothing weird about this,” Kaidel wrote in her post. “There’s no difference in me feeding my baby with my breast than you feeding yourself with a spoon.”
When she woke the next morning, the photo had thousands of shares.
Fred’s Market would not comment if employees saw the women who Kaidel said gave her a dirty look. Regardless, the photo has gone viral. It has received over 413,000 Facebook likes and 124,000 shares.
Breastfeeding etiquette is a hot topic throughout the United States, as 76.5% of mothers have breastfed their child at least once in their lifetime, according to the CDC.
Kaidel’s photo sparked the controversy even brighter as People, The Huffington Post, The Daily Mail and parenting sites picked it up.
But not everyone agrees with Kaidel. Stephanie Sanchez, who said she has known Kaidel for six years, is also a mom. Sanchez both breastfeeds and gives formula to her 3-month-old daughter. Though she believes each mother should be able to make their own choice, Sanchez said that Kaidel’s display — which involved taking her breast out of her shirt to feed Phoenix uncovered — was over the top.
“There’s nothing wrong with breastfeeding,” Sanchez said. “But you shouldn’t have to do it in a way that makes everybody feel uncomfortable.”
Sanchez brings along a light cover if she takes her daughter to a public place.
Kaidel’s supporters have said a cover can be hot for the baby, and going to a private place such as the bathroom or car is unsanitary and uncomfortable.
Breastfeeding in a public place is protected under Florida law.
“It’s all about normalizing (breastfeeding),” she said in a Tampa Bay Times interview Friday. “My breasts were designed to feed a baby before they were sexualized by America. If you don’t like it, there are four cardinal directions, you can look in a different one.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
BREASTFEEDING IN FLORIDA
State Law 383.015
(1) A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother’s breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breastfeeding.