A Montreal mother who was shopping at Marie Claire in Place Ville Marie with her baby claims an employee would not allow her to breastfeed in one of the empty changing rooms.

Pragni Sanghvi was shopping in the clothing boutique with her four-month-old when her baby became hungry.

After making a purchase, she says she asked the employee if she could breastfeed her infant in one of the four empty changing rooms.

“At this point the store is completely empty. There was absolutely no one there, so I asked her if it was okay if I feed her and she said no. That shocked me and I said, ‘How come?’ and she said, ‘My manager disapproves,’” claimed Sanghvi, who, along with her husband, is speaking out because they think more needs to be done to normalize breastfeeding. 

“I was upset that a woman would not understand where I’m coming from and that she could deny me such a basic thing,” she said.

“It’s something that shouldn’t be treated as taboo or as something that is not the natural way of life,” said her husband, Ashwin Jadhav.

Community groups agree.

“An incident like this could be very damaging for mothers and their will to breastfeed,” explained Raphaelle Petitjean of Mouvement Allaitement Du Quebec, a group offering support to women who breastfeed or want to. “It could even lead to some mothers wanting to stop altogether.”

No one from Marie Claire responded to CTV’s interview requests.

While Sangvhi claims an employee there told her she wasn’t allowed to breastfeed in the store, the law says otherwise.

“It is a fundamental human right to breastfeed your baby wherever and whenever you want. Both the provincial and federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms make this clear,” said Petitjean.

Some stores in Montreal have made adjustments for that reason.

“In Montreal there is La route du lait which is a group of stores that understands the importance of breastfeeding,” said Petitjean. “They allow mothers to breastfeed even without purchasing anything.”

There is still work to do, she added.

“There needs to be signage in public spaces saying that women have the right to breastfeed where they want, creating spaces for those who need it and making sure employees know that too,” she said.

Sangvhi and Jadhav don't plan on taking legal action, but they hope their story will inspire change at Marie-Claire and beyond.

Here's what Sanghvi posted on Marie Claire's Facebook page: