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Even though Elliott has breastfed her kids in restaurants, doctor’s offices and churches in the past, she has never received this kind of reaction, she said. But other mothers experience similar comments every day, she said.
“I’m proud of being a breastfeeding mother, and I’m proud that it happened to me in a sense,” said Elliott. “If this had happened to a new mom, or one who was already struggling with breastfeeding, it would have crushed her spirit,” she said.
The office is in favor of breastfeeding, and has a policy that allows mothers to breastfeed anywhere on office premises as long as it does not directly endanger dental procedures in terms of infection control, which it wouldn’t have in this case, said dentist Michael Wilson, the founder and owner of Wilson Dental’s five practices across New York state, including the Irondequoit location.
He confirmed that Craig had said she was uncomfortable with Elliott breastfeeding, but said Craig intended to add that she was going to leave the room until Elliott was finished feeding her daughter. Craig was never able to voice that, given Elliott’s anger, he said. He was not present in the office at the time of the incident.
“I have four kids, all of whom were breastfed,” said Wilson. “I am a 1,000 percent on board with that.”
Numerous mothers have breastfed at the office in the past, said Wilson, and he doesn’t know of any other incidents in his offices where a mother wasn’t able to breastfeed whenever and wherever she chose to do so. His offices have offered private rooms to women who were more comfortable breastfeeding away from the public eye, he said.
Wilson responded publicly to the situation Sunday via a Facebook statement, saying that an “unfortunate comment” was made to a “breastfeeding mother” on Saturday at the Rochester office.
“I want to apologize to the mom, on behalf of Wilson Dental for that comment,” his statement read. The statement appears to have been altered between 9:10 p.m. and 9:35 p.m. to specifically mention the “breastfeeding mother.”
The Facebook page was either deleted or rendered inaccessible to the public as of Tuesday morning. That was an effort to deescalate the amount of online anger directed at the company, said Wilson.
Wilson Dental released a statement Sunday regarding the incident, at right. At left is the original statement, which did not include the mention of a “breastfeeding mother” as the recipient of the “unfortunate comment.”
Wilson Dental released a statement Sunday regarding the incident, at right. At left is the original statement, which did not include the mention of a “breastfeeding mother” as the recipient of the “unfortunate comment.” (Photo: Provided)
His statement showed support for breastfeeding mothers, and went on to say that personnel at all Wilson Dental locations in the area (in Binghamton, Elmira, Ithaca, Irondequoit and Syracuse) would be immediately trained on “the company’s position and perspective on this very important subject,” so that similar situations would be handled accordingly going forward.
“We need to understand, and be super aware of the sensitivities that are out there, and make sure that we bend over backwards to make sure that no mom ever feels like we’re shaming her for (breastfeeding,)” said Wilson via phone Tuesday.
The office was closed Monday and Tuesday but plans to open Wednesday, an office representative said Tuesday. Wilson said he received death threats related to the situation via email, and chose to close the office for two days after getting reports that angry residents may show up at the location.
Elliott found Wilson’s Fac,ebook post to be insincere, she said. The dental office reached out to her Sunday via Facebook and asked if she’d share the office’s statement on her Facebook page. She refused.
Shortly after Elliott’s original Facebook post, local mothers planned an event to protest the dentist’s reported actions. A number of area residents arrived at the East Ridge Road office on Wednesday to stage a protest, according to the event organizer Candice Harvey of Webster. The event wasn’t just for mothers who breastfeed, Harvey said — anyone is welcome. They did not enter the office, as it is private property.