I’ve breastfed my child, now three years old, in all sorts of places — on trains, in museums, on an Ikea show sofa, even in the Groucho Club — but the most impressive of them all was while changing from the Victoria Line at Vauxhall onto a No 185 bus. I navigated the escalators, the ticket barrier and eventually the bus with one hand on the pushchair while he was latched on to my exposed chest. If breastfeeding on the move were an Olympic sport, I’d have as many gold medals as I had frozen bags of pumped milk.
I’ve never been one for those monstrous muslin cover-ups, and have never once trapped myself in one of those apologetic and conspicuous “feeding rooms”. It wouldn’t occur to me not to feed in public. It’s a right enshrined in law, and to state the obvious, why can adults have their lunch in public, but a baby can’t? Nobody seemed to pay me the slightest bit of attention when I did it — even when I accidentally squirted breast milk where I shouldn’t (sorry, Shoryu ramen restaurant on Great Eastern Street in Shoreditch, London, though in my defence it was during the Eat Out to Help Out campaign).
All of which is why it was so surprising to read about a breastfeeding row this month between a passenger and Tui Airways. In an online exchange with a customer who asked whether they could breastfeed her five-week-old during take-off and landing, the company advised against it, because it might “make other people uncomfortable” — despite there being no restrictions against breastfeeding on flights. For balance, breastfeeding in a small economy seat is not particularly pleasant, and I can even understand why the act of removing your shirt makes people uncomfortable, but would you rather listen to a child scream because they are hungry?
Tui later apologised for “the distress” it caused the passenger and said “as a family-friendly travel company we support breastfeeding on our flights at any time”. It added: “To ensure this never happens again we have reminded our cabin crew and customer-service advisers of our policies so we can deliver a positive breastfeeding experience for our customers.”
Cathy breastfeeding her child on the London Underground
Perhaps I’m lucky that I’ve never had anything more than a supportive grin from cabin crew and other passengers when I’ve breastfed on planes — mostly because not much flesh is ever on show. My infant son fed on planes to Portugal, Greece, Dubai and Ireland, which usually meant award-winning levels of contortion in an economy seat. The public areas aren’t much better either — the memory of bouncing him with one arm in the galley during a night flight from London to Dubai, with him screaming regardless, still sends a chill down my spine. At least I was never tempted to join the mammary-high club by locking us in the toilet.
I asked Amy Brown, professor of child public health at Swansea University and breastfeeding advocate, for her thoughts. She said the idea that it is the “responsibility of a mother to stop feeding her baby if someone feels uncomfortable” is “unfathomable”.
“Many mothers find that breastfeeding their baby during take-off or landing helps to comfort the child and can prevent crying by reducing any pain caused by pressure changes in the cabin,” she said. “Finnair recommends breastfeeding during these times as it can help to ease discomfort. Notably, Finland has significantly higher breastfeeding rates and more positive attitudes towards it. I think this is very telling.”
Finnair has a progressive approach to breastfeeding
ALAMY
The Tui episode isn’t the first time that an airline has made a boob about boobs.
In 2019 a KLM flight attendant reportedly offered a nursing mother a blanket to cover herself up. The airline then tweeted: “To ensure that all our passengers of all backgrounds feel comfortable on board, we may request a mother cover herself while breastfeeding.” Cue outrage.
In 2014 a woman breastfeeding her 12-week-old baby in Claridge’s was handed a giant napkin to shroud herself — drawing even more attention to what she was doing in the process and leading to a mass “nurse-in” at the five-star hotel. Nine years on, there is still some way to go with public perception of such a basic act.
Claridge’s triggered a mass “nurse-in” in 2014 with its clunky approach
ALAMY
Other airlines do much better, though: Lufthansa will store expressed milk safely on board; Virgin Atlantic says that it will offer nursing mothers a seat in the galley if they need more space and British Airways is “fully supportive” of a mother’s right to feed her baby and women “do not need to ask the cabin crew” for permission to do so.
In fact, why do we need official policies at all? It’s not as though adults have to ask before tucking into their Boots meal deals on a flight.
According to Brown: “If someone has a problem with a mother breastfeeding her baby they can simply look away, and I’m sure other plane passengers would much prefer this to an unsettled baby.” Trust this writer — from bitter experience, that’s something nobody wants.
What are your thoughts about breastfeeding on planes? Let us know in the comments below
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