Mystic — A Rhode Island woman, who is alleging in a lawsuit that the Ocean Community YMCA, her former employer, told her she could not breastfeed her daughter there in public, will stage a protest at the organization’s Mystic branch on Sunday afternoon.

Elizabeth Gooding of Hopkinton, R.I., who was a part-time yoga teacher at the time, said she was told by YMCA staff on two occasions in February and March 2015 that she could not breastfeed her then 1-year-old daughter, Lucy, in public areas of the YMCA’s Westerly branch. She alleges one supervisor was concerned young boys could see the breastfeeding. She also alleges she was then told she could not bring her daughter to the class she taught. Gooding charges that when she spoke to YMCA officials, they told her to cover up and be more discreet.

Last month, the Rhode Island ACLU filed the lawsuit on Gooding’s behalf, asking the YMCA to develop a breastfeeding policy that is consistent with state and federal law, train all staff concerning the rights of employees and patrons to breastfeed in public, compensate Gooding for lost employment opportunities and pay her legal fees.

Gooding’s 2 p.m. Nurse-In protest, which she said will not disrupt the YMCA’s operations and is designed to be a family-friendly event, will take place next to Williams Beach and the YMCA playground in Mystic. Gooding said the protest was moved to the Mystic branch from the Westerly branch, where the alleged incidents took place, because the Westerly branch is in a congested area.

She said the protest is taking place at the same time as similar Nurse-Ins at YMCAs across the country, which she helped to organize. She said there have been 45 incidents similar to hers at YMCAs across the country.

“This has happened too many times. We want to make changes so women don’t have this happen to them at YMCAs,” Gooding said on Wednesday.

“We want to bring awareness to this issue. If we don’t, we can’t make a positive change,” she said.

YMCA President and CEO Maureen Fitzgerald said Wednesday she could not discuss Gooding’s protest and claims because of the pending lawsuit but did issue the following statement on the suit.

“The Ocean Community YMCA regrets that a former employee and member felt it necessary at this time to file suit against the YMCA for an incident that she alleges took place almost two years ago. The Ocean Community YMCA took affirmative steps at that time to address her concerns. The Ocean Community YMCA developed a policy on breastfeeding in the workplace and provided education for its employees in this regard. The Ocean Community YMCA also created a private area for employees who choose to breastfeed, if they so desire to use it."

"The Ocean Community YMCA wants to assure the community that it does not restrict where members or program participants may breastfeed within the facility," Fitzgerald said in the statement. "The Ocean Community YMCA is confident that it is in compliance with federal and Rhode Island law in this regard and remains committed to the health, safety and welfare of its employees, members and program participants.”

j.wojtas@theday.com