Do you despise babies? Are you sick of their cries, their chirps, their screams? Then maybe you shouldn't be a nurse.
Babies are certainly tough to deal with. As mini-homunculus humans who cry and poop all the time, you need a very specific set of skills to adequately handle a baby. But that's what maternity ward nurses are for - they have been trained and raised to handle babies with love and care.
At least, that's the ideal. But some staffers at Jacksonville Naval Hospital disagree. They work at a maternity ward, even though they clearly hate babies. Or maybe, it was the months and weeks of work that wore down on them, and the once idealistic nurses became certified baby-haters. Either way, controversy and ink slips have flown ever since these photos of two women flipping off babies went viral.
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Wow. Is a baby a mini-Satan? It depends on your point of view. They are pink, and small, and angry, and smelly. Perhaps an imp or a demon? But not Satan himself!
The photos were posted onto Snapchat, so someone must have reported on them after seeing the photos there. Supposedly, there is also a video featuring the two employees making a baby dance to rap music, holding it under its arms and swinging it about to rap songs. That's got to be some new level of abuse.
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Navy Surgeon General Vice Admiral Forrest Faison has said that no more photos of patients are allowed to go on social media, and made this statement:
“Unprofessional and inappropriate social media behavior is inconsistent with both our core values of honor, courage and commitment as well as our medical ethics, violating the oaths we took for our profession and office. In an age where information can be shared instantly, what we say and post online must reflect the highest standards of character and conduct, in both our personal and professional lives.”
The hospital put forth this statement on Facebook:
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"Naval Hospital Jacksonville's Commanding Officer sends: We are aware of a video / photos posted online. It's outrageous, unacceptable, incredibly unprofessional, and cannot be tolerated. We have identified those involved-- two staff (not nurses as reported on some sites). They have been removed from providing patient care and they will be handled by the legal system and military justice. We've notified the patient's parents."
What do you think? It seems these two staffers have been fired and so their reign of terror in the maternity ward is over, but I hope these kids don't grow up with any mental scars over this, some primordial infant memory being flipped off before you were too young to know who you were.
It seems that these "mini-Satans" have gotten the last laugh. Good for them, and we hope the hospital can rehire some better staffers in the future.
2 min(s) read
Published 15:26 19 Jul 2018 GMT
Manager is fired after vicious Facebook rant where she threatened to punch breastfeeding mothers
Recently a stunning Sports Illustrated swimsuit model strutted down the catwalk while breastfeeding her baby daughter. The video went viral, with thousands of people thanking the model for normalizing the act. Breastfeeding is totally natural, but mothers often get shamed for doing it in public.
Usually haters give breastfeeding moms dirty looks or make scathing comments. But Carly Clark from Spartanburg, South Carolina, went even further. Carly, a manager at the pet store Petsense, posted a vicious Facebook rant where she threatened to punch breastfeeding mothers, and their babies.
"'I'm not sorry. The next female that tries to whip her boob out to breastfeed in front of my kids will get a black eye, move that baby bc I'll punch it too."
Surprisingly, Carly's threat to punch mothers and babies in the face didn't get a positive reaction. Furious parents expressed their outrage on social media, as screenshots of the post went viral. Some breastfeeding mothers even planned to stage a 'nurse-in' at the Petsense store in Gaffney, where Carly works.
In response, Carly posted a sincere apology, admitting she was wrong. Just kidding. She made another stupid comment, trying to justify her disgust at public breastfeeding. Also, she called the mothers planning the nurse-in "immature." Because threatening to punch babies in the face on Facebook is a true sign of maturity.
"If you read my comments I plainly said it was about one person in general. Do what you want, but I find it very immature that you as a mother would go out of your way to come to a place that you know I work at and breastfeed. Idc (I don't care) who breastfeeds when my kids aren't around. Pulling your boob out in front of my kids on purpose just to prove a point is simply represented by who you are as a person."
The Petsense Facebook page became flooded with angry messages. In less than 24 hours, they issued a statement announcing they fired Carly. Also, they explained that they disagree with her individual views on punching breastfeeding mothers and their babies in the face.
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"At Petsense we demand the highest standards in ethical and personal behavior from our employees. We absolutely would never condone violence or threats of violence such as was recently posted by a former Petsense employee.
This matter was quickly brought to our attention and immediately investigated. We disagree with her individual views and want every breastfeeding mother/family to feel completely safe & welcome to shop with us. This individual is no longer employed by Petsense and on behalf of the entire Petsense family we sincerely apologize to those who have been affected by this matter."
Well, that was fast! Chalk up another victory for breastfeeding moms. And good luck on the job search, Carly. Maybe there's a pet store somewhere out there that shares your views.
After she was shamed for breastfeeding at Disneyland, this mother-of-two got back at those who disapproved of her actions. Brittni Medina, who hails from the city of Ontario, California, was feeding her 10-month-old son when she received glares and critical comments from some others in the queue and decided to take a selfie with them.
Brittni, who claims to be "pretty comfortable feeding anywhere", posted the image on the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook page, where she received a warm response from other mothers in the group. She has two children, Jeremiah and Micah, and said she often used to cover herself up more while breastfeeding, but has found that "people complain and stare no matter what".
The photo has since gone viral, receiving 3,200 likes and over a thousand comments. The post read:
"So we are APs [Annual Pass Holders] and go to Disney often. Well my little man is ten months and BF! So we’re pretty comfortable feeding anywhere; any way. Well these ladies were so angry by my husband just had to take a picture. Peep the haters. Characters of the day. Just had to get a picture!"
And once she received a number of comments about her apparent choice to walk around while feeding, she cleared things up in an update to the post:
"Because people want to act all bent out of shape no I was not walking around feeding him in this moment, (I have though before and would do it again)."I was standing in a very long line to get our picture taken, my son got hungry and I wasn’t going to wait in another line again, so I took off my first top and nursed. These women were making snarky comments so I moved from my spot to catch a picture with these characters."Not for attention for me but attention to the fact NO WOMEN SHOULD BE SHAMED FOR FEEDING THEIR BABY UNCOVERED."
She and her partner use their annual passes to take both their sons on whatever weekends they can manage, and the above photo was taken the day they went to see all the Christmas decorations at the park, hoping to get some snaps in for the holiday season.
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"We were standing in a long line to take a picture in front of the Cars Land sign," she said in a recent interview. "It was almost our turn when my son just couldn’t wait to be fed, so, in order to get a happy boy picture, I fed him in line."
She continued:
"These ladies were seriously saying I should go and find a restroom. I covered up with my first son and to be honest, people complain and stare no matter what. It’s a place meant for kids!"I scooted over so they could be in the frame to get a picture. I didn’t know my husband actually got them so good! Mid-complaining – I was so happy."I love the photo because it shows I’m happy and proud to feed my baby even in a crowd! My son is happy, my husband and I were happy – it’s just sad how people get so bothered!"
When she was asked about the response she has received from the post, she said that she has gotten plenty of positive feedback, especially from other mothers supporting her choices. Speaking of those who were less than happy about her actions, she simply said: "the haters can’t decide why they are mad."
Honestly, it seems to me like this is a natural thing to do whether you're in public or not – and asking someone to head to the restroom to sort it out in private when they've been waiting in one of those stupendously long queues is a bit much.
Published 08:15 31 Jul 2018 GMT
People think this woman just dropped the best breastfeeding shame response ever
It's a sad fact that people still viewing breastfeeding in an archaic, outmoded manner. Mothers everywhere are still being shamed left, right and centre for the (apparently) heinous crime of making sure that their children are fed in public. Indeed, many people still treat this perfectly natural act of maternal care as if it were some kind of lewd exhibitionism, and people have even come to blows over the issue. Thankfully however, the cultural perception of breastfeeding is starting to change (albeit slowly) and women are beginning to throw shade back at their haters. I can't say I blame them.
Now we might have seen the best response to breastfeeding shamers ever posted on social media, courtesy of a mother and activist named Ashley Kaidel, who hails from Florida. Ashley decided to upload a picture to Facebook of herself breastfeeding her son in a public restaurant, where she had to contend with a number of other patrons who weren't happy with her, as well as prejudiced social media users. However, in an articulate post, she outlines precisely why it's so ridiculous for mothers to be derided for public breastfeeding.
"In the picture, it appears I'm staring off into the distance. In reality, I'm staring into the eyes of a woman staring at me. She is looking at me with disgust and shaking her head with judgement in an attempt to shame me and indirectly tell me without words that I am wrong and need to cover myself ..."
"Breast feeding mothers are protected under law to breast feed any way, any how and any where they're allowed to be in all circumstances otherwise ... I do this for the person that has the mentality 'Boobs are to be covered. They're for your husbands eyes only. They're intimate. It's a personal/private thing to feed your baby. Cover up out of respect. My kids don't need to see that. Walk out of the room' ... Breasts were made to sustain your baby's life before they were made to bring pleasure to any other man, woman, partner or spouse. Their sole purpose is to make food and dispense it straight into a baby's mouth."
She added, "No person should be isolated and shunned because they're eating, especially when you yourself are eating while ridiculing how someone else is eating. Is it not certainly easier to avert your eyes from a displeasing sight rather than suggest or demand a mother and child remove themselves from your presence? How pompous and selfish is this? Just look away. It's simple to do so. No harm done at all.”
Halloween is supposed to be a time when people explore their creative side and wow us all with their cool costumes, but there are some people who take it too far. Halloween is supposed to be scary and spooky, not bigoted and offensive. Sadly, not everyone seems to get that, and racist costumes are apparently still a thing, even in 2018.
If you want an example of this kind of controversy then look no further than the case of nurse Shelbi Elliott-Heenan. Elliott-Heenan, who hails from Kansas City, Missouri nurse, shocked and appalled social media users this week with her racist Beyonce costume, in which she and her partner appeared at a party wearing blackface.
Elliott-Heenan worked at Saint Luke’s East Hospital in Lee’s Summit, and after the pictures of her offensive Halloween outfit, and her friend's equally-racist Jay-Z outfit, were made public, she was summarily fired from her position. The pictures were first noticed by Facebook-user Lynese Sade, who immediately complained to the hospital about the images. Elliott-Heenan's contract was terminated shortly afterwards.
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Commenting on the incident, Laurel Gifford, senior director of media relations for Saint Luke’s, stated: "Information was shared with appropriate health system personnel and an investigation was initiated immediately ... While it is against Saint Luke’s policy to comment on specific personnel matters, we can confirm that this individual is no longer a Saint Luke’s employee. Saint Luke’s is deeply committed to our culture of diversity and inclusion. It is fundamental to who we are as an organization and we vigorously protect it on behalf of all our patients and employees and expect those who represent us to do the same."
Social media users didn't mince words when it came to condemning Elliott-Heenan's costume. On Facebook-user wrote; "Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes. If she doesn’t have the common sense to know that blackface is racist, how can she be trusted to treat each patient equally? Don’t do Blackface. And if you have to (and you really shouldn’t) at least be smart enough to NOT TAKE A PICTURE AND POST IT ON YOUR OWN PAGE!!!! [sic]"
However, some people went so far as to defend the couple's choice of costume. One disgruntled commenter wrote: "Maybe Beyoncé was one of her favourite peeps. Wow. This world is so sad So white people can only dress like white people. Black people only like black people. Where does it stop?"
Recently, a white man in the United Kingdom who was dressed as the character of Jules Winnfield, was also shamed for wearing blackface on public transport. Blackface has a long history as a cultural practice in the western world, and was used to perpetuate stereotypes about Afro-Carribean people. Guys, seriously I don't think this is a particularly complex issue: blackface clearly makes people uncomfortable and upset, so just don't do it, okay?
Childbirth is an amazing thing.
A fact of our very biology, our need to reproduce and further the cause of our species, it is in our nature to raise children.
As a man, it can be difficult to comprehend just how mammoth an undertaking giving birth is for a woman; months of discomfort and pain, culminating in unimaginable effort and the birth of another human being. It is an incredible act; a beautiful moment.
Of course, it would be a whole lot worse without the help of nurses and doctors who guide us through the process; they do vital work which often goes underappreciated in a society that places emphasis on more glamorous life pursuits.
When blogger Jill Krause came across a beautiful photo of a nurse helping a mother in the moments after birth, she decided to write a tribute to the work they do. Here's what she said;
“I’ll never forget the faces of the nurses who followed me into the bathroom after delivering each baby. That moment when I was so vulnerable, so tired, scared, shaky. My swollen belly deflating, and my modesty long gone. They treated me with such kindness and dignity. For me, these have been moments of empowerment and confirmation that I have a real village to help me, even if just for that little bit of time in a bathroom, on a toilet, while a kind nurse shows me how to put an ice pad on my mesh undies. This photo by my friend MommaKT Shoots just takes me right back. Like, I can smell the Dermaplast. Let’s hear it for the nurses and the doulas and anyone else who shows us how to make ice pad underwear (or helps with that first shower post c-section!).”
And here's the photo:
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The picture was captured by Katie Lacer, a photographer who specialises in capturing the act of giving birth. Explaining she is so drawn to such moments she says;
“The day that you welcome your baby into this world is, hands down, the most important day of your life. It surpasses your wedding day. It surpasses graduation. It surpasses every single thing that you’ve ever done, every single time, no matter how or where you give birth. It’s one of the few things in life that can’t be staged or recreated. This truly only happens once.”
The photo and Krause's emotionally charged blog post captured the imaginations of mothers everywhere, who began recalling their own experiences;
“When I was pushing, I’ll never forget pulling my face away from my nurse’s chest to see her scrub top SOAKED with my sweat and tears. I was like, ‘Oh my god I’m so sorry!’ And she went, ‘Baby, this is life all over my shirt. Nowhere else I’d rather be. Now let’s get that baby out,’” wrote one woman.
How great it is to see nurses getting the recognition they so richly deserve.
