The woman writing on Facebook addressed her post to the “Natur musée’s” management, criticising them for making her to leave whilst discretely breastfeeding her baby on the grounds of breastfeeding not being authorised on the premises. The message caused an uproar on social media as other commentators castigated the museum’s incomprehensible and contradictory stance, given the museum’s subject focus of natural history.
Our colleagues at RTL 5minutes contacted the museum’s management, and director Alain Faber confirmed the incident had occurred. He apologised, attributing it to a “communication issue” amongst staff and outlined that the museum’s policy is to “naturally” allow mothers to breastfeed whilst visiting.
Faber specified that the young mother had not been asked to leave, but instead asked to go to the cafeteria to feed her baby. He confirmed that the museum’s regulations do not ban breastfeeding and claimed the staff had “misunderstood”. Visitors are not permitted to eat or drink whilst viewing exhibitions, but breastfeeding is permitted.
Following the “regrettable” incident, the museum’s management has added the specification in the museum’s regulations to avoid any future miscommunications. Faber also confirmed that a staff meeting had been scheduled to outline the museum’s stance. He highlighted that breastfeeding is a natural act and should be permitted in the museum, as it is a public space.
