Breastfeeding women picket store

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- A Canadian clothing store in Vancouver was picketed by at least 60 breastfeeding women after a new mother was chastised for feeding her infant.

The protest Thursday followed an incident Tuesday in which Manuela Valle was told by store staff to go into the changing room to feed her 2-month-old daughter, The Province newspaper in Vancouver reported.

As women breastfed in the store sitting cross-legged on the floor, others marched outside with placards, the report said. Some of the women told the newspaper they're annoyed that companies can display ads showing near-naked women, yet mothers are vilified for discretely feeding their infants in public.

A spokeswoman for the H&M clothing stores' headquarters in Toronto told the newspaper the staff had acted in error on Tuesday, and a retraining program on policy was being scheduled.