One woman’s now-viral Facebook post proves you don’t mess with a pumping mom — especially a ticked-off one who knows her rights.
Lynda Mazzalai Nguyen was at Embassy Suites by Hilton near the San Francisco Airport for a seminar when she inquired about a private area where she could pump breast milk. The very first suggestion by a hotel employee was to do so in a restroom. “I told them they don’t eat lunch in the bathroom, so it’s gross to expect me to contaminate baby’s milk in there,” Mazzalai Nguyen wrote.
The breastfeeding mama tried to negotiate a clean space with an outlet — a hotel room, an office, an unused conference room or any relatively clean area not designated for excreting. Unfortunately, she was met with resistance every single step of the way. Click here to read her infuriating experience. (Warning: Explicit language used in the actual Facebook post.)
After blocking every reasonable option for semi-private pumping, hotel staffers eventually offered her the wine cellar. By this time, Mazzalai Nguyen had enough. She said she would come back in a couple of hours when it was time for her to pump.
And that she did. Just not in the way hotel staffers might have imagined.
“Based on principle, I decided to pump in the lobby next to reception. F*** you, @embassysuites. I’m livid,” she wrote in the Facebook post. “I spoke to the GM and expressed their need to train their staff, and reiterated how appalling it was to be quickly dismissed without any attempts to accommodate my need and offered a bathroom because sir, you don’t eat where you s***, so why should my baby! He apologized profusely. Do NOT p*** off a mama who knows her rights and is a social worker to boot!”
Can I just say her defiant smile is priceless in this photo. And the random people waiting in line at the front desk in the background is icing on the cake.
Although the conditions were less than ideal, this kick-butt mom did what needed to be done to pump milk for her baby. I’m not so sure I could have been as brave. While breastfeeding in public is no big deal for me, I’d imagine the sound of pumping in public alone would attract a little more attention.
It sucks Mazzalai Nguyen had such a negative experience at this particular hotel. But I applaud her for standing up for pumping moms everywhere.
Featured screenshot via Facebook/Lynda Mazzalai Nguyen
What do you think of how the hotel treated this pumping mom? Would you have done the same?
Share your thoughts!Badass mom pumps in hotel lobby after refused private space
