Comments on: Making Airlines Breastfeeding Friendly

By: Breckenridge

Breckenridge — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:57:16 +0000

People are sick to associate nursing with sexuality. Mother who bf are good mother who will provide our race with really healthy young little ones. Governments all over the world should set rules in favor of nursing on planes and public places, crowded or not.

I am about to take my 22 month on a plane on an international flight and wanted to know what bf mothers have to say about planes and nursing. I was shocked by some of the stories I read and just don’t understand why laws have not been implemented to protect babies and their mothers.

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:02:04 +0000

My last blog post was about this very issue of babies being discriminated against and I did draw some disturbing analogies to race or obesity. Things that the average well-educated person would NEVER articulate, yet when aimed against an innocent baby trying to EAT (!) it is suddenly ok to say.

All that to say – I am in total agreement.

Angela <
.-= Angela ´s last blog ..The last stronghold of discrimination in America? Babies who Breastfeed. =-.

By: Claire

Claire — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:25:49 +0000

Makes me want to fly somewhere just so I can have a fit at any flight attendant who tries to get me to cover up.
.-= Claire´s last blog ..Breastfeeding Photos =-.

By: Jake Aryeh Marcus

Jake Aryeh Marcus — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:46:00 +0000

I have yet another take on this.

For what it is worth, I am the author of the Mothering magazine article this mom quotes. As I wrote in that article and have written in subsequent updates, Delta Airlines in fact never apologized to Emily Gillette. Delta litigated ferociously in the Vermont Human Relations Commission legal action and was dismissed by the state. Within the post month or so, years after the day Emily Gillette and her family were forcibly removed from that airplane for refusing to cover her nursing child’s head with a blanket, Gillette has filed a civil action against Delta which Delta shows every sign of fighting. So why should airlines be expected to have become more breastfeeding-friendly since the Delta nurse-ins? No airline suffered. So far the lesson for airlines to have learned is “we can get away with this.”

That said, I think it is very important to distinguish between what happened to the mom in the letter above and what happened to Gillette (or to another mother I wrote about who was exposed half-naked to fellow passengers when the flight attendant forced open the bathroom door knowing she was pumping). A flight attendant who asks you to cover, but does not take any action when you refuse, is rude. I understand the anger a mom would feel. But rudeness alone does not give rise to a legal claim. No law was broken here and “I have the right to breastfeed anywhere I have the right to be” is an empty statement unless there actually is some legal right.
.-= Jake Aryeh Marcus´s last blog ..A Podcast with Me from the 2007 La Leche League International Conference – Still Timely, I Promise =-.

By: Corinne @ Have Baby Will Travel

Corinne @ Have Baby Will Travel — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:44:00 +0000

Luckily I’ve had no issues – either on a plane or at the airport – but you can be sure I was ready to stick up for ourselves!
.-= Corinne @ Have Baby Will Travel´s last blog ..Flying Southwest Airlines With A Baby =-.

By: Juliette

Juliette — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:32:00 +0000

On an airplane, sitting in the window seat, there are approximately 4 other passengers who could possibly have seen the sight of *gasp* a nursing breast from their seats. Possibly others who were walking by, if they tried hard enough. I’m thinking chances are it was the stewardess who took it upon herself to “anticipate” the other passengers’ reactions….

By: Cave Motherr

Cave Motherr — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:21:41 +0000

How utterly ridiculous. I am very fortunate to not have had any such negative experiences of breastfeeding in public, and I would be shocked if I did. Would Delta prefer to have a baby screaming throughout the flight to avoid having a women nurse in view of other passengers? I know which I would prefer if I was a co-passenger. .-= Cave Motherr´s last blog ..Pain Hammered My Blog =-.