Woolworths worker to mum: 'You should be breastfeeding'

Melanie Mahoney
March 19, 2014
Sadly, it’s nothing to new to hear of mums being shamed for breastfeeding in public.
But we also often hear about how mums who formula-feed their babies are judged, too – like the Albury mum who was recently told by a senior supermarket staff member that she shouldn’t be giving her baby formula.
Reannon Spencer, a mum of three, was shopping for baby formula in her local Woolworths in Thurgoona, NSW, when she couldn’t find the brand she was after. She later emailed store management about the matter, asking why there were toddler milk substitutes available but only a limited number of baby formulas in the store. She eventually received a phone call from the manager of the baby products section of the store.
“[The manager] first started to explain to me the reasons why Woolworths couldn’t supply the stock,” she told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Tuesday.
“He then said to me he didn’t feel it was a needed product … because newborn babies should be breastfed and that is why there is not a large variety of newborn formula.
‘‘I didn’t feel that it was his business and I don’t think he has the right to challenge why I’ve chosen to bottle feed my baby.”
Spencer shared her disappointment about the experience on social media, writing a post on the Woolworths Facebook page.
Woolworths then went into damage control after the post was shared and commented on by angry parents around Australia.
‘‘We are very sorry that you not only had a bad experience in one of our stores, but that you had been both upset and dissatisfied with the responses received from your contacts with Woolworths,’’ a spokesperson wrote on the post.
Spencer then stated that she had spoken with the national manager of health and beauty, who apologised for the comment.
“[They] reassured me that this was individual person and NOT the policy of Woolworths, and [they] will be reviewing stock and shelving,” she wrote in a subsequent Facebook post.
While it’s certainly nothing new for parents to be judged on their choices, we’d like to think that parents are at least able to shop for their child’s food without having to worry about what others are thinking – or what they may say to them.
As Spencer said, “I think being a parent is hard enough. We should not have to justify why we choose to bottle or breastfeed – it is what works best for baby and mum.”