Museum apologizes after telling woman she couldn’t breastfeed

CLEVELAND — An Ohio museum is encouraging breastfeeding after a Facebook post describing an interaction between two museum workers and a Pennsylvania mother went viral.

Emily Locke of Beaver Falls says she was breastfeeding her 9-month-old baby at the Cleveland History Center on Monday when an employee told her she wasn’t allowed to and that breastfeeding violated the museum’s policy. When Locke refused to move, another employee approached her and told her she had to move to a private area.

Center Director Angie Lowrie told cleveland.com on Tuesday that the museum doesn’t prohibit breastfeeding and that the employees have been disciplined.

Lowrie responded to Locke’s post apologizing for the incident.

Lowrie says they’ve contacted the Ohio Breastfeeding Alliance and plan to train staff on how to address breastfeeding in public spaces.