My airport nightmare shows exactly why mothers struggle to breastfeed | Sophie McBain
Heathrow’s lack of facilities is symptomatic of the complete lack of thought given to breastfeeding women in the UK
Last weekend I travelled without my baby for the first time, and I needed to express milk ahead of my seven-hour flight to New York. A member of Heathrow staff told me I should use the baby changing room. I felt bad that I would be occupying the room for at least 20 minutes, but I also felt bad because I thought my breasts might otherwise explode, midway over the Atlantic.
It seems someone knocked (I didn’t hear them) and when they got fed up with waiting they sought help. I heard keys jangling, and then a male attendant unlocked the door from the outside. While my breasts were still exposed and stuck inside a plastic pump, he began lecturing me about how I should pump inside the terminal building or leave the room unlocked.
Woman have a difficult choice: stay tied to your baby 24/7, pump your milk while sitting on the loo – or move onto formula.
Related: Offer cash incentives to mothers to promote breastfeeding – study
Source: Guardian Transport
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