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KEARNEY - Danielle Erickson of Kearney will stick to her guns when it comes to breast-feeding her children.

"I know a mom who stopped nursing after three weeks because she felt stuck. She couldn't go anywhere or do anything," she said. "I'm not willing to live my life that way. I'm a stay-at-home mom, and sometimes I need to go out for groceries or errands."

Erickson said she was shocked recently when she was shopping in the Kearney Wal-Mart and was asked to move to a restroom or fitting room to nurse her 2-month-old daughter, Alexandria.

"I was just in shock that someone would have the gall to ask me to go to the bathroom or the fitting room," she said. "I said 'Do you eat in the bathroom? Do you eat in the closet? No.' I have the legal right to nurse, and they're not just legally wrong, it's morally and ethically wrong to ask me to do this."

Erickson said she was approached by two employees who had received complaints from a customer.

Mark McNeil, manager of Kearney's Wal-Mart, said store policy allows nursing in any private or public part of the store and does not allow employees to ask women to relocate.

"After it happened, I asked around and almost everyone knew what our policy was, so I think this was just a case of a few people that didn't know," he said. "It's just a matter of educating employees."

Since the incident, Erickson said she wants to help educate people about nursing.

"It's a very touchy issue. Breast-feeding has this negative social stigma, and we just need to get over the embarrassment," she said. "It's just the facts of life, and it's something that needs to be brought out. It's completely natural, and it's who we are and what we are."

Deanne Birkestrand, lactation consultant at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, said a federal bill passed in 1998 gives protection to nursing moms, allowing them to nurse wherever moms and babies are allowed to be.

"Some people do not understand that nursing does not require removal of any clothing or baring yourself," she said in an e-mail interview. "A mother can breast-feed discreetly, often so much that people do not even realize she is doing it.

"If people do not understand that breast-feeding is a normal biological function they may feel that it is not appropriate," Birkestrand said. "In many cases, they may have received the message from their parents or other peers that breast-feeding is 'old-fashioned' or that breasts were not meant for babies. The fact that breasts have become sexualized in the last 50 to 60 years has contributed to this opinion."

In response to the incident, Erickson has asked Wal-Mart to post the International Breast Feeding Organization's logo at the store's entrances. The logo signifies that the store is a safe place for mothers to nurse.

"I'm just kind of trying to education people in a positive way," she said. "My response was to shop somewhere else, but I could picture another mom experiencing this and walking right over to buy formula."

McNeil said he would be happy to post the logo at the store's entrances, but is waiting for approval from Wal-Mart's corporate offices. He said information will also be included in the employee newsletter explaining Wal-Mart's policies on nursing.

"In the long run, hopefully, this would keep it from happening to anyone else," Erickson said. "If one mom hears about this and decides to keep nursing, then it's worth it."

e-mail to:

betsy.friedrich@kearneyhub.com