Metro, Local Eateries to Moms: It’s Okay to Nurse in Public

As part of a healthy living campaign, Metro government wants restaurants to make sure mothers of infants know it’s fine to breastfeed in public. In fact, doing so is legally protected. The awareness campaign formally begins Wednesday in what is World Breastfeeding Week.

Organizers say they’d love to get chain restaurants on board to post decals declaring “breastfeeding welcomed here.” But that process requires jumping through hoops with corporate attorneys.

So the Metro Health Department is starting with locally owned eateries. A few have already committed to participate, like the Wild Cow, a vegetarian restaurant in East Nashville.

Co-owner Melanie Cochran says despite the Wild Cow’s relatively open layout, which doesn’t afford much privacy for a mom wanting to be discreet, it’s kind of a non-issue.

“We’ve actually seen quite a few moms breastfeeding in here, and I don’t recall ever seeing anyone make a scene or react to it. It happens quite frequently actually and nobody’s ever made a big deal about it.”

Tennessee has already had a law allowing mothers to nurse children up to twelve months old. As of last month, that age restriction is gone.

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Blake Farmer contributed to this report.