Emily Jackson

Emily Jackson of Hazel Green was nursing her 9-month-old son while they were in the lazy river at Point Mallard Water Park in Decatur when she was told by a park employee she was not allowed to breastfeed while in the water. (Courtesy)

"You can't breastfeed in here."

Emily Jackson was confused. She was in the lazy river at Point Mallard Water Park in Decatur on Wednesday with her 2-year-old, her 9-month-old and her mother, enjoying the water on a hot summer afternoon.

Her 9-month-old had gotten hungry, so she'd been nursing him. She and her young family have season passes to Point Mallard - had them last year, too - and she had nursed her sons many times at the park without incident.

But that day, June 10, she'd noticed she was getting a few strange looks from the lifeguards.

Someone called out, "Ma'am!" A water park employee was standing beside the lazy river, looking right at Jackson: "You can't breastfeed in here."

She explained to him that Alabama law gave her the right to nurse wherever she legally had a right to be. He told her she needed to go to a private place, and he would be happy to show her to one.

"We went back and forth for three minutes, saying the same things," Jackson said. The employee finally told her she could go sit on a chair by the water and nurse as long as she covered up.

"It's 95 degrees outside," she recalled. "I'm not going to cover up my child with a blanket."

Jackson said she became more upset and embarrassed as the conversation continued in the middle of the late afternoon crowds. The employee finally told her that nursing was a safety issue because her son could potentially fall through the float.

"I had both hands underneath him," said Jackson. "He wasn't going anywhere." She said she'd seen many other mothers holding sleeping babies while they were in the lazy river in the same manner she was holding her son.

After she realized she and the employee were not going to come to an agreement, she and her family decided to leave.

"I was completely off-guard and embarrassed, because (onlookers) were just staring at us," she said. "I had seen many other mothers nursing that day (at the park) and hadn't thought anything of it."

A rush of support

Jackson went home and, a couple of hours later, was still shaking. She describes herself as a shy person who doesn't like to draw attention to herself. She felt "completely embarrassed. I didn't know if I had overreacted."

She wrote a Facebook post about her experience and posted it on the Huntsville Mommy Milk Meetup, a closed Facebook group dedicated to supporting and encouraging breastfeeding moms.

Within minutes, comments of support began flooding in. Many mothers recounted they had nursed their babies at Point Mallard without incident. Some shared that they had been asked by park employees to cover up or move to a more private place.

Some wondered if safety or health concerns were valid. Some proposed staging a nurse-in at the water park in protest.

"I was blown away," said Jackson of the response. "It felt nice to have other breastfeeding mothers backing me up. It's nice to have that support."

Health, safety and the law

Jackson did call Point Mallard the next day and spoke with a manager, who told her that breast milk was a 'bodily fluid,' which was why nursing wasn't allowed, because it would be a health risk to others in the pool.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the "CDC is not aware of any risks to other swimmers related to breastfeeding in pools or hot tubs/spas." The CDC does caution parents to be careful with infants in pools and hot tubs because of the potential for a baby to swallow water, and to use caution when exposing a baby to water that is very cold or hot.

According to the CDC, no scientific study has looked at the health and safety of breastfeeding babies while in pools or hot tubs/spas.

For what it's worth, the CDC does not list human breast milk as a body fluid requiring special handling precautions.

As far as the legality of breastfeeding in public, there is a state law about that.

Alabama law (Section 22-1-13) says, "A mother may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be present."

Bethany Hyder is a leader for the La Leche League - an organization dedicated to breastfeeding support and education - in Decatur. When asked about whether she considered nursing in the water a safety hazard, she said safety should be determined by the mother.

"If she feels like she is in a safe position with her baby, then it should be up to the mother's discretion," said Hyder. "If there is no rule that a baby can't be in that pool, then there shouldn't be a rule that baby can't be nursing."

'Not good enough'

After Hyder heard about Jackson's situation, she called Point Mallard and spoke with a manager and offered to provide education or information for the park staff on public breastfeeding.

"I really hope this was an isolated incident," said Hyder. "Hopefully, with the proper education of the staff, going forward this will not happen again."

Hyder said mothers should feel comfortable nursing in public, with or without a cover. "You're just trying to meet your baby's needs in what you've been told is the best and most natural way to do so.

"It would be humiliating to a mother, to be asked to leave," said Hyder. "It makes you feel like you're not equal, not good enough to be there."

'Handled differently'

Jackson said on a previous visit she had actually asked a Point Mallard life guard at the large pool if it was OK for her to nurse her baby in the pool, and was told it was fine.

"I brought that up when I was on the phone with the manager (Thursday morning) and she said the different pools have different rules," said Jackson.

"It would have made me feel better if this were handled differently," she said, "or if it had been posted in the rules."

Shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, Point Mallard released a statement:

"Point Mallard Park is proud to have provided a fun, family-friendly experience and atmosphere for 46 years. Point Mallard Park strives to make all customers feel comfortable while enjoying any part of the facility. Point Mallard Park supports breastfeeding as a natural part of motherhood and permits breastfeeding according to established state and federal guidelines. Any miscommunication that occurred based on the incident taking place June 10, 2015 has been resolved. Point Mallard officials will train and educate park staff on rules regarding breastfeeding. We look forward to serving our community and visitors for many years to come and appreciate the understanding of the parties involved."

Jackson lives in the Hazel Green area with her husband and their children. They had planned to go back to Point Mallard next week, but on Thursday she was having second thoughts.

"I've been nursing ever since my older son was born and he's 2-and-a-half," said Jackson. "I've never been stared at, never gotten any bad comments until yesterday."

*Story updated at 5:05 p.m. June 12 to include Point Mallard's official statement.