Lynda Mazzalai Nguyen needed to pump breast milk for her baby in a clean, private space while attending a seminar at a hotel. But she was less than pleased with the accommodations.
“Went to front desk to ask if there's a private space where I can pump, and was told by two different staff to use the bathroom,” Mazzalai Nguyen wrote in a Tuesday, August 16, Facebook post that has since gone viral. “F – – K YOU! NO! I told them they don't eat lunch in the bathroom, so it's gross to expect me to contaminate baby's milk in there.”
She continued: “I was met with so much resistance.”
An infuriated Mazzalai Nguyen then provided a play-by-play of what happened next:
1) “No, you can't use the hotel rooms since you haven't paid for it.” “Uhh I paid a fee to attend the seminar which paid YOU, so YES, I am a paying customer.”
2) "'There are no hotel rooms available. We sold out this morning.” “LIES. I found rooms on Expedia!”
3) “I don't feel comfortable putting you in an uncleaned room.” “So a dirty bathroom with urine and feces is better than a room someone just checked out of?”
4) "As staff, we don't even have offices. Only the GM has an office, but I can't ask him and it has big glass windows.” “I’m fine with windows!” “But I can't have you in his office.”
5) “So you're telling me in the WHOLE entire building there isn't a single space for me to plug in for 15 min to pump for my baby?? Office? Conference room? Anything?” ‘“No, there isn't. The conference rooms aren't private since you can't lock the door and people come in and out.” “That's fine with me, I just need a room with an outlet.’’ “Well, I'm not comfortable putting you in there.” “WTF, lady!! Work with me here.”
6) “What about employees who pump? Where do they go?” “We don't have any employees who pump.” “An entire hotel staff and not a single nursing mother now or in the past?! Somehow I doubt that.”
So Mazzalai Nguygen came up with her own solution: She put on her hands-free pumping bra and got to work in the lobby — right next to the reception desk.
“I’m livid,” she concluded. “Do NOT piss off a mama who knows her rights and is a social worker to boot!”
The post and pumping pic — which Mazzalai Nguyen shared on the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook page — has received 16,000 likes and more than 1,000 shares in just 14 hours.
Tell Us: Do you think Mazzalai Nguyen was right to be enraged?
