A Nova Scotia mother says she felt 鈥渃ompletely violated鈥� after a man allegedly filmed her breastfeeding her 10-month-old in a waiting room at Cape Breton Regional Hospital. Hospital security, she claims, did nothing to help.
鈥淔ive to 10 minutes into breastfeeding her, the woman sitting across from me started screaming at a gentleman who was also sitting across from me (and said), 鈥業 can鈥檛 believe you鈥檙e recording her breastfeeding!鈥欌�� Nicole Fraser told CTV Atlantic.
Fraser says that when she looked up, she saw a man pointing a cellphone camera in her direction. The mother quickly went to hospital security to complain, but claims that nothing was done to help.
鈥淭he security guard said, 鈥榃ell, there鈥檚 not too much we can do. We can鈥檛 take his phone. We can鈥檛 remove him from the building. There鈥檚 really nothing we can do for you,鈥欌�� Fraser said.
Fraser says that she was wearing a large sweater and tank top at the time and that she regularly breastfeeds her child in public. Nothing like this, she adds, has ever happened before.
The hospital says that it is now investigating the incident.
鈥淚n relation to the response by security, that鈥檚 part of our follow-up and part of our discussion,鈥� Nova Scotia Health Authority spokesperson Greg Boone told CTV Atlantic. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to debate what security did or did not do or the level of response from security.鈥�
Fraser says she also contacted police, who showed up at the hospital to take witness statements. It鈥檚 not clear, however, how they dealt with the man or whether charges will be laid.
鈥淭he video recording is an allegation because we don鈥檛 have exact or firm proof that there was an actual video recording made at the time,鈥� Boone added. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e going based on the complaint and the concerns from the mom that there was.鈥�
Fraser says that she has since met with the Nova Scotia Health Authority and been given a verbal apology. Fraser said that she doesn鈥檛 want to see anyone at the hospital get fired over the incident, but hopes that it leads to more sensitivity training.
Boone told CTV Atlantic that it is natural, healthy and within a mother鈥檚 rights to breastfeed in public. Boone also added that hospital visitors are not to be recorded without their consent.
鈥淚 felt completely violated,鈥� Fraser said. 鈥淟ike I was being sexually objectified for doing something that I鈥檓 legally allowed to do, that every mother is legally allowed to do.鈥�
Fraser says that she will continue to feed her child in public when needed. The Nova Scotia Health Authority says it plans to share the details of their investigation with the mother once it鈥檚 completed.
With a report from CTV Atlantic鈥檚 Kyle Moore
