Someone sent me this email from a new mom who was corrected for breastfeeding her child on Southwest Airlines, by the flight attendant:
hey ladies, just wanted to let you know about an experience i had on southwest airlines and to see if any of you have had similar events. i was discreetly breastfeeding my baby on takeoff when the flight attendant came over with a blanket and asked me to “cover up.” i asked her why and she told me i was being “offensive” to the 5 year old boy across the aisle. there was a boy across the aisle and back a bit, but i doubt he could even see me as i was seated in the middle aisle and there was a large man on the aisle seated next to me. furthermore, i doubt that he or any child would be “offended” by breastfeeding. i don’t know if his mother called over the attendant or if the attendant took it upon herself. she asked me, “well dont you think it’s offensive?” i said “no!” and refused to take the blanket. i regret not getting her full name, but did write a letter to SWA requesting their policy on breastfeeding and what, if any, education is provided to flight attendants regarding breastfeeding children on flights. i also told them i would never use their airline again. i’m curious to see if any of you have had any similar experiences on an airline and how you’ve handled it. of course, there are many things i wish i had said to this woman, most of which shall go nameless here! thanks for listening.
You know, there really only needs to be one item on the list of reasons why it is ALWAYS acceptable to nurse a child on a airplane:
It keeps their ears pressurized!! Hello!!
Little babies can’t swallow or do anything else to pressurize their own ears, and that is why so many moms time feedings (or bottles or binkies) for takeoff and landing--it’s the best advice I ever had for travelling: “Nurse up and nurse down.” It seems like a simple choice between discomfiting a prude with the thought of a glimpse of breast or annoying an entire plane with ear-splitting shrieks.
Idiots. Oh. That reminds me: once, while travelling with a three-month old (must have been my first, since we were alone), a young woman in my row (Not even next to me! There was a seat between us!!) looked around the airplane and said, “There might be another seat for you where you can be alone. I’m sure they will help you move.” I looked at the baby, the diaper bag, the blankets, my headphones, my books, the toys, and the small concession stand I had made of my purse, and replied, “I don’t mind sitting with you. But thanks.” Can you believe it? I hadn’t even had a chance to do to her what I did to a businessman sitting right next to me on the previous flight ( I sprayed his business suit with milk when the baby pulled away suddenly to look around).
Bitch. Oh. That reminds me: just kidding. Just wanted to see if you thought I would start talking about you. Carry on.
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My son was in the same room as me when I was getting dressed one day. I scratched the top of my left breast a little and he said, “Mommy, you are touching your —-!”
I said to him, “I just have an itch,” to which he responded, “That’s *your* excuse!”
Jet, 4
Jax: Mommy, here’s a little piece of toilet paper to wipe the tip.
Mommy: The tip of what?
Jax: Your penis.
Jax, 3
After being told to go outside and pick up the dog poop, he goes outside, whines and complains. He comes back in and says, “Mom, I think the dog over-pooped.”
Luke, 8
When I woke up one morning with a sore throat, raspy voice, and fever, my three-year-old, Emilie, asked me what was wrong. I said, “Mama has a cold…” and she felt my cheek for a minute before saying, “No. You has a hot!”
Emilie, 3
Do you know how I memorized 2 x 11? I have this fake pencil in my brain, and it writes down the multiplication!!
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10.19.03 at 05:53 PM |
I was shocked to read this - it’s in all the books that you should breastfeed while ascending and descending! In Australia we have an almost militant breastfeeding association raising public awareness of these issues, but it didn’t stop this:
Former Olympic skier Kirstie Marshall said she didn’t know she couldn’t breastfeed her baby in the Victorian parliament today, after being ushered out and missing her first question time. Ms Marshall, the member for the Melbourne suburban electorate of Forest Hill, was breastfeeding 11-day-old baby Charlotte in the Legislative Assembly prior to the ringing of the bells calling the house to order. Ms Marshall was absent throughout question time, the first of the new parliament which opened yesterday. Ms Marshall later said she had not realised she was not allowed to feed Charlotte in the chamber.
“Charlotte was due for a feed so I whacked her on the breast and walked in, sat down and then Gavin (the Sergeant-at-Arms) came and told me there was actually a room set aside ... for me to actually feed her,” she told reporters.
“I’ve since found out that there is a law or a rule that actually stated that you can’t have a stranger in the house. And as she hasn’t been elected to parliament - and I thought that being inside me that was kind of part of it - she’s not an individually-elected member.”
This caused a lot of controversy and it may be that Charlotte is Australia’s youngest political activist!
10.19.03 at 05:54 PM |
PS I checked out your backyard project photos and it made me realise two things:
(a) you have a much bigger backyard than we do; and
(b) I don’t seem snap happy enough - I must take more photos!
10.20.03 at 02:17 PM |
This kind of attitude gets on my very last nerve!! My god! THIS is what TITS are for!!! And having breast feed all four of mine, I am proud to say that I never once moved seats or went to a ‘provided’ room just to feed my child...although I was asked to on occasion!
10.20.03 at 11:40 PM |
My husband and I sometimes joke that we are waiting for something like this to happen to us on a plane or in a restaurant so that we can take the case to court and start a trust fund for our daughter:
In 1995, the Quebec Human Rights Commission recommended that Westmount Square mall in Montreal and a security firm pay Ann Martin a total of $2500 as compensation for being asked to cover up or leave while breastfeeding at the mall, or further legal action would be taken. The mall and security firm complied.
And the Ontario Human Rights Commission website contains a fact sheet for the public explaining their policy, part of which says:
You have rights as a nursing mother. For example, you have the right to breastfeed a child in a public area. No one should prevent you from nursing your child simply because you are in a public area. They should not ask you to “cover up”, disturb you, or ask you to move to another area that is more ‘discreet’.
I think that under Canadian law, it is ALWAYS acceptable to nurse a child on an airplane, or in a business meeting or parliamentary meeting for that matter.