CEDAR FALLS - A handful of mothers staged a low-key nurse-in Thursday to draw attention to public breast-feeding issues.

The women were there to stand up for the rights of mothers to breast-feed in public after one woman was told to be more discreet when nursing at the Cedar Falls Recreation Center Tuesday.

Elizabeth Wilson had been attending the indoor park at the rec center for about three months with her 3-year-old son and 6-month-old daughter. The popular program draws dozens of children and parents to the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"I'm pretty sure every time I've come here I've nursed," Wilson said.

On Tuesday, she was nursing her daughter when a staff member approached and asked her to cover up, or if that wasn't possible, to go to another room, such as the bathroom, to breast-feed the baby.

"It was really surprising," Wilson said. Wilson, who serves as a peer counselor for breast-feeding through the Women Infants and Children program, saw it as a violation of the state's law that allows breast-feeding in public places.

Word quickly spread to friends and acquaintances and the city recreation division began fielding phone calls ranging from outraged parents to a state senator to a mother concerned about whether they could breast-feed at the rec center at all.

Bruce Verink, city recreation division manager, said breast-feeding is a common occurrence at the rec center. There have been a few complaints from customers in the past about mothers not being discreet when feeding their children. He said the rec center tries to find a middle ground so a customer who is offended by the breast-feeding is appeased and the mother retains her right to feed her child.

Ward Stubbs, human and leisure services Director, said the Tuesday incident stemmed from a complaint from a customer who was offended by Wilson feeding the baby in public.

"It's not complaining about breast-feeding and, to me, that is key, it's about being somewhat discreet," Stubbs said. "We don't want people to believe we're against breast-feeding at the rec center or that we're not sensitive to the needs of young mothers who breast-feed."

Stubbs said that breast-feeding is commonplace, particularly at the indoor park program, and has not caused any controversy in the past.

For the Thursday nurse-in, five mothers sat on the floor against a wall of the gym feeding their children. In the noisy atmosphere of the indoor park, the event drew little attention from other customers, even with a television camera and several reporters present.

Of the mothers at the nurse-in, only Wilson had ever been approached about breast-feeding at the rec center.

Jenelle Shamrelle said she has been coming to the indoor park program for years with her children, now ranging from a young baby up to 5 years. "I've not had any problems. I nursed all my children. I've never had anyone say anything," she said.

Nonetheless, she supported Wilson.

Bel Pedro, another nursing mother, also supported Wilson. When she heard of the incident, she called the rec center, where she often attended indoor park.

"It made me feel uncomfortable. I wondered, 'Am I going to be asked to go to a bathroom?'" Pedro said.

Pedro and another mother, Katherine England, said the law doesn't make any mention of being discreet, it doesn't require a mother to cover up.

"It's not always easy to cover up. Your child gets older and they won't necessarily leave a blanket on," England said.

Wilson would like to continue attending the indoor park but wants to be sure she can do so without being made to feel bad about breast-feeding.

As a peer counselor, she said young mothers often feel intimidated when starting to feed their babies and they need to feel comfortable about it, regardless of their surroundings.

Contact Jon Ericson at (319) 291-1461 or jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com.