As if the list of breastfeeding challenges wasn't long enough[1] enough[2] , now add jury duty.


When Laura Trickle, a Missouri woman and breastfeeding mother, was summoned to serve last month, she explained to the court that she was nursing her son. According to the Kansas City Star[3] , they would not exempt her, so, she went anyway -- avoiding contempt of court, a possible $500 fine or jail time -- and brought her 7-month-old son with her.


Turns out she faces contempt of court charges anyway.


When Trickle arrived with the baby, the judge gave the new mom two options: find a babysitter or “use a private room to pump milk and store it, feeding it to their children later.” Trickle says neither plan would work because she was a stay-at-home mom with no child-care options, a working husband, and an infant who does not take a bottle.


"I would be able to pump on breaks, unfortunately Axel doesn't take a bottle, so that's not an option for us,” she told KCTV5.[4] “The other option was to have someone stay with me all day and then be able to nurse on breaks. But since I'm a stay at a home mom we don't have childcare."


Unlike neighboring Kansas, Missouri does not yet exempt breastfeeding mothers from court duties, (though there is a bill circulating in the state legislature to change that.) [5] .


Considering that it’s a national goal [6] to have breastfeeding mothers breastfeed their children longer, one would hope the “Show-Me” state might act quickly.



Jackson County Presiding Judge Marco Roldan told the Star[7] that he actually does take personal issues -- including breastfeeding -- into account.


“I am very protective of our jurors,” said Roldan. “They are the foundation of our system.”


On the other hand, he said, having a large pool of jurors to choose from is also in the interest of the system.


Maria Guido, a blogger for Mommyish[8] is one of a growing chorus who support Trickle. Unless and until Missouri changes its law to excuse breastfeeding mothers, [9] she suggests another solution.


"You can’t force a breastfeeding mother to part with a child who won’t take a bottle. If the county is so hell-bent on breastfeeding mothers showing up for jury duty, they should provide daycare so all women they refuse to exempt can serve," she wrote.


For now, Trickle will just have to appear in court on Thursday.





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  • At Hollister


    Brittany Warfield, a mother of three from Texas, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/hollister-nurse-in_n_2425541.html" target="_blank">was nursing her 7-month-old outside of a Hollister store in a Houston mall, she says a manager forced her to move</a>. “He said, ‘You can’t do this here. This is not where you do that. You can’t do that on Hollister property. We don’t allow that.’ I said, ‘It’s Texas. I can breastfeed anywhere I like.’ He said, ‘Not at Hollister. Your stroller is blocking the way. You have to go,’” she recalls.




  • On Facebook


    Mom and breastfeeding advocate <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/12/emma-kwasnica-breastfeeding-mom-facebook_n_1203198.html" target="_hplink">Emma Kwasnica</a>had posted over 200 photos on Facebook of herself nursing her own three children and told the Huffington Post that her account has been suspended at least five times as a result.

    She organized a nurse-in in front of Facebook headquarters to challenge the company's policy that says photos depicting breastfeeding are "inappropriate."




  • At Target


    Houston mother Michelle Hickman says she was <a href="http://www.bestforbabes.org/target-employees-bully-breastfeeding-mom-despite-corporate-policy" target="_hplink">harassed and humiliated by Target staff </a>when she found a quiet space in the store to breastfeed her infant. She organized an international "nurse-in" at several Target locations on Tuesday December 28th. Pictured above is mom who participated, Brittany Hinson and her 4-month-old son, Kennedy, in front of the Super Target store, in Webster, Texas.




  • At A Cafe


    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/breastfeeding-flash-mob_n_1153963.html?ref=parents" target="_hplink">Claire Jones-Hughes wrote</a>: "After being verbally attacked for not covering up while feeding my four-month-old, I decided it was time to make a statement to show that mothers will no longer tolerate being harassed for feeding our babies in public." She then staged a breastfeeding flash mob at the Clock Tower in Brighton, UK.




  • In A Government Building


    Simone dos Santos was breastfeeding her four-month-old in the hallway of a D.C. government building when <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/14/simone-dos-santos_n_1148455.html#s542782&title=McDonalds_" target="_hplink">two female security guards told her to stop</a> because it was indecent. "I was shocked, upset and angry that by providing food for my son, I was being treated like a criminal," she wrote in a blog post for the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/dc-guard-no-breastfeeding-in-public/2011/12/12/gIQA2xYvtO_blog.html" target="_hplink">Washington Post</a>.




  • In The Courtroom


    In November, Natalie Hegedus, a Michigan resident, was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/natalie-hegedus-courtroom-breastfeeding_n_1089271.html" target="_hplink">asked to leave a courtroom</a> by a district judge. Her post on the community forum, <a href="http://community.babycenter.com/post/a30189175/bf_inappropriate_judge_thinks_so" target="_hplink">BabyCenter</a>, caused a national uproar.




  • In Another Courtroom


    In August 2010, Nicole House was asked to leave the courtroom because a bailiff noticed her breastfeeding.




  • On A Bus


    This past June, a mom was <a href="http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/07052011breastfeeding-mom-harassed-on-city-bus/" target="_hplink">harassed by a bus driver</a> for breastfeeding on a Detroit-area bus.




  • On A Plane


    Back in 2006, 27-year-old mom, Emily Gillette, was <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15720339/ns/travel-news/t/woman-kicked-plane-breast-feeding-baby/#.Tr2Eh1ZSmGg" target="_hplink">removed from a Delta flight</a> for breastfeeding.

    Watch a news clip about this story <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0r6gbJpc18" target="_hplink">here</a>.




  • At The Mall


    Ohio mom Rhonda claimed that she was <a href="http://consumerist.com/2011/02/woman-says-mall-made-her-leave-for-breastfeeding-in-public.html" target="_hplink">kicked out of her local mall</a> for breastfeeding, back in February. Mall security even called for back-up.




  • At The Pool


    We've heard about <a href="http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2011/07/21/mom-asked-to-leave-ymca-pool-while-breastfeeding-it-made-others-uncomfortable-and-breastmilk-is-considered-a-contaminating-bodily-fluid/" target="_hplink">these incidents</a> from coast to coast. In 2001, a mother nursing her 9-month-old was told to <a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/4015441.html?tab=video" target="_hplink">move away from the edge of the pool</a> so as to avoid contaminating the water with her breast milk.




  • In Her Religious Community


    One mom <a href="http://www.mothering.com/community/t/567001/basically-forced-out-of-church-for-breastfeeding" target="_hplink">posted a frustrated essay</a> in November 2006, detailing her pastor telling her that photos of her breastfeeding were equivalent to pornography. She and her husband decided to leave the church after this incident.




  • At McDonald's


    Clarissa Bradford was <a href="http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/north_phoenix/nursing-mother-kicked-out-of-mcdonald's" target="_hplink">kicked out of a McDonald's</a> by an assistant manager for breastfeeding her 6-month-old child in August 2010.