VANCOUVER — Facebook and breastfeeding activists are engaged in a battle over the posting of photographs that show mothers feeding their babies.

Vancouver mom Emma Kwasnica has had more than 20 photos of her breastfeeding her daughters removed from the site since she joined in 2008.

The latest incident happened Saturday, when she was sent a written warning that a photo of her and her two-year-old daughter Chloe, who was breastfeeding at the time, was considered "sexually explicit."

Facebook has a strict nudity policy.

Later that day, a two-year-old photo of her feeding her now four-year-old daughter, Sophie, was also deleted. Kwasnica was then banned from the site for three days.

Kwasnica said she has tried to contact Facebook administration to speak with them about the issue, but they haven't returned her messages.

She wants Facebook to be held accountable to the same community standards that allow women to breastfeed in public.

"Facebook should just leave breastfeeding photos alone," she said. "(Breastfeeding is) not pornographic. It's not obscene. It's a normal human function."

Facebook's Canadian publicist, Reena Dacdo, said breastfeeding is not exempt from Facebook's community standards page that sets out a no-nudity policy: "I recognize breastfeeding is a natural thing to do, but many users want to foster diverse respect so we have come up with a set of community standards."

Kwasnica likens the policy to harassing a woman in public for breastfeeding.

"We aren't doing anything wrong," she said.

Kwasnica has garnered significant support since complaining about the policy online. A Facebook page to support her has been set up with nearly 3,000 members, many of whom have posted their own breastfeeding photos on the site.

Dacdo says Facebook is standing firm.

"It's a tough battle for (Kwasnica), but with 18 million active Canadian users, Facebook is trying to find that balance with respecting everyone's values."

Dacdo said Facebook is "largely self-regulating" so it's up to users to determine if a particular image contravenes Facebook's policy.

She said Facebook does not have a specific policy regarding breastfeeding images, but "given that Facebook's policy is no-nudity, it would be best not to post (breastfeeding images)."

kpemberton@vancouversun.com