Breastfeeding mum 'humiliated' after run-in with volunteer at Cambridge University museum

A mum was left “utterly humiliated” after being told off for breastfeeding her three-month-old son on a visit to a museum.

Fae Church, 35, said one of the members of staff told her she was not allowed to breastfeed baby Reuben as "no food and drink are allowed" in the museum.

The mum-of-two from Haverhill in Suffolk said she was left "absolutely stunned" at the order during her family's outing to the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge on Saturday.

The museum has since apologised and admitted its volunteer made a "terrible" mistake.

Ms Church said the family were making a quick visit to the free museum when her baby began to cry, and she looked for a quiet area to feed him as her husband Aaron, 35, and daughter Sophie, five, looked around.

She found a corner with a chair and said she moved it to be away from other visitors who were nearby at the time.

“I positioned myself with the pillar to my back and my buggy in front of me, to act as a screen. I try to be as private as I possibly can with it and so I sat there."

Ms Church said she was wearing a jacket and had draped a scarf over herself as her baby fed, with the buggy also shielding her.

Though a few people walked past "they didn’t pay any attention to me they were looking at the exhibits," she said.

As she began to wind her son after his feed, she saw a volunteer passing by and said to her: "I hope you don't mind - I just made this my breastfeeding corner”.“There was a sort of silence and she looked at me again and she went ‘Actually no, it’s not ok because no food and drink are allowed to be consumed in the museum’.“I stared at her, my jaw slightly open, and I didn’t know what to say. She then said ‘there is a café upstairs, you should have gone there’.”

• 'It was so humiliating', Fae Church told ITV News Anglia

Ms Church said she was amazed at the volunteer's response.

“I felt utterly humiliated - like a little girl at school, just getting told off. I didn't know what to say."

She said she had never received any negative responses to her breastfeeding either of her children.

“Especially from a woman, I found it quite shocking," she said.

“I was absolutely shaken by it, I just couldn't believe it. She was making me feel humiliated by it. I did just feel about three inches high in that moment. It wasn't nice.”

Ms Church added: "We should all be supporting each other. Especially as a woman, she should support me to be doing something that's natural, and the best thing I can possibly do for my child. It’s quite shameful behaviour.”

The University Museum of Zoology says on its website that "breastfeeding and bottle feeding is welcomed in all Museum spaces”.

A spokesman said the museum apologised "wholeheartedly" for Ms Church and her family's experience.

"We absolutely allow and welcome breastfeeding and bottle-feeding in all our public spaces. We pride ourselves on being a family-friendly museum and it’s terrible that a visitor was treated in this manner.

"The volunteer she spoke to made an unfortunate mistake, one which is not reflective of our culture or policy."

It said the issue had been raised with staff and would be highlighted in training for new volunteers.

"We’ve ensured that they know how important it is that visitors should feel comfortable breastfeeding and bottle-feeding in the museum, to avoid visitors being left feeling the way [Ms Church] has been, with some specific pointers about how they can support parents who ask about quieter spots they can use."

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