ABC Action News
St. Petersburg mother Nichole Moore says a doctor kicked her out of his office for nursing her baby
By Jacqueline Ingles
Jun 15, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A St. Petersburg mom says she was kicked out of a doctor’s office for nursing her 8-month-old baby during an appointment.

“He said, ‘I couldn’t give him my full attention,'” recalled Nichole Moore.

Moore told ABC Action News she waited two months to see Dr. Mark Simko, a psychiatrist, on June 11. Struggling with her infant, Moore wanted to see if she could be suffering from postpartum depression.

According to Moore, she was referred to Dr. Simko.

“How can a doctor be uncomfortable with me breastfeeding my child?” Moore said.

Moore says she could not find a babysitter for her daughter, Emma, and was left in the waiting room for about 30 minutes. Emma was sleeping, but awoke by the time Moore went in to see the doctor.

Moore claims the doctor had a short fuse when it came to her child being with her.

Moore says Emma was hungry and she decided to breastfeed. Moore claims she asked the doctor permission to breastfeed and he told her she could not.

“He told me I couldn’t because I wouldn’t be giving me his full attention,” Moore said.

According to Moore, that is when the doctor stood up and said he needed to get a female to sit in on the appointment. When the doctor returned, he was accompanied by the receptionist who told her the appointment was over.

“She [the receptionist] said, ‘It makes him uncomfortable,'” Moore said.

Moore says she started crying and thinking about how much she needed this appointment.

“I don’t understand how a doctor can feel uncomfortable with this,” Moore said.

Moore did not get to finish nursing, and took her daughter outside.

Moore now wants an apology.

“The law in Florida says I can breastfeed my daughter anywhere I am allowed to be. I don’t think any woman should be shamed if a tiny piece of her breast is exposed for a second. I definitely don’t think a doctor should make a woman feel that way,” Moore concluded.

Under Florida law, women are permitted to breastfeed in any public or private location. Breastfeeding is also exempt from public indecency laws.

Florida statute 383.015 states, “The breastfeeding of a baby is an important and basic act of nurture which must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child health and family values, and in furtherance of this goal:

(1) A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother’s breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breastfeeding.

ABC Action News called Dr. Simko’s office for comment, and we are waiting for a response.

Officials with Baycare Health Systems, whom Dr. Simko is affiliated with, said while they could not comment directly about Moore due to HIPPA laws, their facilities encourage breastfeeding and they try to accommodate all patients but there are sensitivities in therapeutic settings.

According to representatives, appointments can be stopped and a nursing mother provided privacy to nurse before the appointment resumed.