When Beatrice* (real name withheld) stepped into her local church, she knew she had stepped into her safe haven for some spiritual nourishment. This would however all change minutes into the service.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on Thursday, September 17, she painfully recalled the humiliation she suffered having being kicked out of the service for breastfeeding her child inside the church.
Being the daughter of a bishop who practised in a different branch of the church in Nyeri, she thought she knew all the do's and don'ts in the house of the Lord.
"When it was time for communion, my child started crying and as others stood up to line up, I remained on my seat and breastfed him.
"The person who was leading the activity asked me to stand and I explained that I couldn't since my child was still feeding. By that time, everyone had stopped what they were doing and stared at me. The church leader gave me a choice to either comply or walk out, that was the longest walk of my life," Beatrice who was in her late 30s explained.
She was accused of being disrespectful during communion but according to her, the issue was handled poorly even if she had been on the wrong, which she maintained she wasn't.
"How was my child supposed to know where and when to get hungry? Breastfeeding is a very natural thing and the baby was innocent and even if I was wrong, why did they feel the need to call me out infront of everybody. Someone should have just come and whispered to me. I was so embarrassed especially since I am the daughter of a senior clergyman," Beatrice said, adding that it destroyed her perception of the church.
According to a past sermon by the late Bishop Lawrence Kariuki who shepherded a church in Nyeri, he explained that he would often allow people to even doze off during the service.
"People come to the house of God to find peace, I don't wake people even it they sleep because as a human being, you need peace of mind to sleep and maybe church is the only place they find peace," he stated at the time.
In August 2019, Kwale Woman Representative Zulekha Hassan was kicked out of the National Assembly after she brought her baby to the floor of the House.
While some of her colleagues stood by her defence that she did not have someone to attend to the young toddler at home, the National Assembly ruled that the child was a stranger in the chambers.
While emphasis has been put on maternal health in terms of deliveries and child growth, the same cannot be said about infant development in regards to breastfeeding.
While there are laws requiring companies, institutions and other public places to offer support for mothers, the enforcement has not been very spirited.
The government enacted the Health Act, 2017 which requires all employers to establish lactation stations at places of work and fit them with necessary equipment and facilities.
“Breastfeeding in the workplace may be seen as inappropriate and unprofessional to some. However, the health benefits to both the child and the mother are undeniable, along with the potential benefits for the employer,” Labour CS Sicily Kariuki asserted in August 2019 when she was incharge of the health docket.
