Air travel with an infant can be very stressful. Stephanie VandenBerg was planning to fly with her baby. She called ahead to make the necessary arrangements and was shocked at what the representative advised her to do. An Air Canada representative reportedly told Stephanie that the appropriate place to breastfeed her child would be the airplane bathroom.
The phone call left the new mother angry and rattled. She took to Twitter to share her frustration with the airline.
Air Canada is far from the first airline to demonstrate inconsistencies in its breastfeeding policy. Other mothers chimed in to share their stories of successes and failures with breastfeeding while flying. Many also cited laws that protect a mother's right to breastfeed wherever she and her baby feel comfortable.
The incident is yet another unfortunate example of the struggle nursing mothers go through in trying to care for their children in public areas without harassment or shame.
A mother's recent experience with Air Canada has left her less than thrilled about traveling the friendly skies.
According to People, Stephanie VandenBerg contacted the airline ahead of her flight to arrange travel for herself and her baby.
Stephanie then took to Twitter to share her unsavory experience with Air Canada. While she was on the phone with the airline, a representative advised her that the appropriate place to breastfeed her child would be the airplane bathroom.
Stephanie's tweet raised a lot of questions. People were outraged that anyone would even dare suggest that to a new mom.
A whole host of mothers replied to Stephanie's tweet explaining why that policy made no sense whatsoever. There are a large number of reasons why that's impractical.
Stephanie followed up her tweet by linking to Air Canada's breastfeeding policy. She then amended it according to her phone conversation with the representative.
Many also reached out to Stephanie to make sure that she was aware of her rights. They wanted her to know she was within her rights to pursue legal action since it was a violation of her human rights.
In fact, many airlines encourage mothers to breastfeed during landing or takeoff. As experienced parents noted in their responses, it can keep a baby from crying and disrupting fellow passengers. It can also lessen pain and pressure for the little one.
Another woman's story indicates that this behavior may not be new for the airline. In her instance, a flight attendant tried to tell her to nurse in the bathroom in the midst of their flight.
Other mothers noted that they didn't experience that issue with Air Canada. It appears that there isn't clarity across the airline's staff on the policy.
Air Canada's social media team responded to Stephanie's tweet to enforce the airline's breastfeeding policy. They asserted that Stephanie was welcome to feed her baby wherever she felt most comfortable.
Many didn't feel the reply was satisfactory. For one thing, the airline never apologized.
Stephanie clarified the situation to the representative who tweeted at her. She let him know that despite contacting the airline by various means, she hadn't received any direct contact back.
Many people are understandably frustrated when they hear about experiences like Stephanie's. The idea that women need to hide while breastfeeding is antiquated and, in this situation, could prove dangerous.
Breastfeeding mothers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. There's no reason for a woman caring for her child to hide!
