Mother claims she was told she cannot breastfeed son in Mothercare store at Bluewater shopping centre
00:00, 01 November 2016
updated: 08:31, 01 November 2016
Mothercare has issued an apology after a mum complained she was told to stop breastfeeding at the Bluewater store.
Zoe Frangou took to social media to express her shock after saying she did not get a response from the store for seven weeks.
Her post, in which she describes her disgust at the "completely unacceptable" treatment she received, has now gone viral on Facebook.
She said she went to the Mothercare store on Friday, September 2 with her friend and their two babies.
She wrote: "My baby was on antibiotics for an ear infection and had been asleep for over five and a half hours and hadn't fed in this time."
She said she had asked whether there were any changing facilities where she could feed her baby but was told the store did not have any.
She continued: "My friend continued shopping but my baby started screaming and needed to feed so I found an empty area of the shop with some footstools and sat down to feed my baby.
"I was discreet, covered up and had my pram close to me."
"I am disgusted at how I was treated and that the welfare of me and baby was not considered" - Zoe Frangou
But she claims a member of staff then told her she could not breastfeed because they were "moving things around" and it could be "dangerous".
"She went out of her way to confront me and to tell me that I can't breastfeed," she said.
"What is more shocking is that this was in one of the largest mum and baby retailers in the UK.
"I am disgusted at how I was treated and that the welfare of me and baby was not considered.
"This was even more stressful because he has been very unwell."
Ms Frangou said she contacted the complaints department and they sent a pre-scripted apology saying the store would contact her.
"I have waited seven weeks and have heard nothing," she added.
A Mothercare spokesman said: "We would like to sincerely apologise to Mrs Frangou for the disappointing way she was treated in our store.
"We provide all our stores with our breastfeeding policy which clearly states our full support for all nursing mothers.
"Our customers are welcome to nurse their children anywhere on the premises and for those who prefer some privacy, we provide comfortable feeding facilities.
"We are saddened to hear that on this occasion, our guidelines were not adhered and her complaint was not dealt with immediately.
"We are fully investigating this incident and will be making sure that all our store teams are aware of our breastfeeding policy and guidelines for supporting our customers."
On its website, under the question 'do your stores have breastfeeding facilities?' it says: "We are very conscious of the needs of mothers when shopping with babies and toddlers.
"We provide special rooms in as many stores as possible for mothers to feed their babies in comfort and privacy.
"Our staff will always offer somewhere for you to breastfeed or bottle feed, whether in the Mummy's Room, an empty fitting room, or elsewhere within a Mothercare store."