A breastfeeding mother was ashamed and asked a Wetherspoons pub employee to cover herself

A Wetherspoons pub employee asked a mother to cover herself while she was nursing her infant, leaving her "angry" and "uncomfortable".

Becky Bolger was out for a meal with her 17-month-old son Sebastian and her sister at Peg Square in downtown Birmingham.

While the 30-year-old mother was feeding her son, a staff member approached her and asked her to cover the boy's head to conceal the act of other punters and workers.

Moms have the right to badfeed in public in the UK, and Wetherspoons blamed the incident for a "misjudgment" on the part of the staff, reports Birmingham Live.

The Watford-based chain said badfeeding moms were welcome in its cafes.

Ms. Bolger said, "I explained to him that if I covered my head, it would only create a scene.

"I was really very angry but I tried to stay calm.

"I had never asked this question before and I felt really uncomfortable during the whole time that I was there because I was just trying to feed my son and that I was just starting to have negative feelings. "

Chelmsley Wood's stay-at-home mom added, "My sister (Danielle Harris) was so angry that she wanted to scream and yell, and I told her that it was useless to get fired.

"I'm not the kind of person who likes to complain or likes confrontation.

"If I had completely stopped feeding my son, he would have screamed the place."

Mrs. Bolger and her sister stayed at the pub because they did not want to make a scene and she promised never to return.

The mother said, "Even though I felt uncomfortable, I did not want it to concern me or prevent me from doing what I always do."

She added, "It's about training the staff, that's all, it's just, they just need to be better informed than they can do that.

"As my husband pointed out, before, when we were in this bar, we were even flashed. So, me, badfeeding is nothing compared to that.

Her husband, James, complained to JD Wetherspoon of the incident and wrote about her Facebook groups dedicated to badfeeding and feminism.

Under the 2010 Equality Act, women have the right to badfeed in any public place.

It is illegal to ask a nursing woman to leave a public place, such as a restaurant, shop or public transport, or to treat her with hostility.

Ms. Bolger said she had difficulty badfeeding when she had her son for the first time and that feeding him in public made him feel uncomfortable.

She said, "It is only thanks to the support of my local badfeeding group, which has since ceased, that I am now comfortable doing so.

"I'm still getting support and help even now."

A spokesperson for JD Wetherspoon said, "It is a clear policy of Wetherspoons that badfeeding mothers are welcome in all our cafes.

"On this occasion, a staff member made an error in judgment.

"We will reinforce the message to all our staff that all mothers are invited to badfeed in our cafes."

A recent survey by Start4Life found that 72% of Britons support women who badfeed in public, the NHS said.

However, the survey also found that one in five women (21%) who badfeed feel that people do not want them to badfeed in public.

Six in ten said they took steps to hide it in public and over a third (34%) said they felt embarrbaded or uncomfortable.

"The more that will be done, the more it will become normal," said the NHS.