Breastfeeding mum 'livid' over co-worker's Zoom meeting request

A man has sparked a fierce debate online after revealing that he asked a co-worker to stop breastfeeding on their Zoom work calls.

Taking to Reddit, the man asked the question: “AITA (Am I Being The A*****e) for asking someone to turn off video while breastfeeding their baby on a zoom call?”

He went on to explain that every morning they have a work conference call, where staff aren’t even required to have their videos or microphones turned on.

“One of our co-workers has a baby and she breastfeeds her baby while we are on a video call,” he said.

“Obviously babies need to be fed but she doesn’t mute her mic or turn off video. We don’t see the full boob but she doesn’t cover up.”

Deciding to take things into his own hands, the man privately messaged the woman and asked her to turn off her video during the Zoom call.

The woman “was livid” and horrified by his request, telling the man that she has “every right to feed her baby” and she finds it “rude” when people talk on a Zoom call with their video turned off.

Despite this, the man was baffled by her response, as he claims he asked her in private so it shouldn’t be an issue.

The story led to a heated discussion online, with the post receiving over 1000 comments.

“I am all for breastfeeding, and a woman's right to do it, but if you are going to do it in the middle of a meeting, at least wear a cover up,” one person wrote.

“I don't expect to sit across the conference room table and watch someone breastfeed. Zoom calls are the same thing. There is a time and place,” another person said.

While one woman said she understands why the man may have felt uncomfortable, she also has sympathy for working mothers who often face discrimination in the workforce.

“This might have felt like just one more mark against her, like she can't even be on camera and has to be excluded in part from the meetings, or she might have been afraid that if her video went off, people would think she wasn't paying attention, especially if everyone else was on,” she said.

Others thought it was just a “non-issue” and the man needs to stop being so preoccupied by the woman feeding her baby.

“If she had to have her baby in a physical meeting due to an emergency it would absolutely be appropriate to feed the child in the meeting and not have to excuse herself. These times are even weirder; rules are more slack and in general, meetings are a bit more casual, especially when it's online and from home,” one person said.

Another person agreed, writing: ‘People need to stop being so weird about breastfeeding. The more you see it, the more used to it you will be. She should do it on the camera explicitly so that people who think breastfeeding is gross become more exposed to it.”

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