Mom Blasts Airline On Social Media After Employee Tells Her To Breastfeed Her Baby In Airplane Bathroom

Dec 17, 2021 by apost team

Traveling with an infant can be stressful. There are diapers to change and loads of belongings to carry, and needing to breastfeed can make it even more difficult. In 2019, Stephanie VandenBerg was planning a trip and decided to call the airline ahead of time to get some information about traveling with her infant son. When she spoke with the Air Canada call center, an employee told her she would have to nurse inside the plane lavatory. 

The mother was understandably upset. Bathrooms are not a sanitary place to feed a baby under any circumstances and airplane lavatories are notoriously small and cramped. Not to mention that to tell a woman she can’t breastfeed in public is unfair, especially on a plane where she can’t just leave, and some say it actually violates a human right. VandenBerg went on to her Twitter account after the call to post a complaint about what she was told. 

The original tweet has since been deleted, but it said that she was directed to voice any questions or complaints to Air Canada’s medical line. She ended the post by stating that those at the airline may be fine with eating dinner in a bathroom but her infant son would not be joining them. Many people left replies to the post in support of the mom and said it was wrong to tell women they can’t breastfeed in public.

Air Canada sent out a tweet in response to VandenBerg and stated that what she was told over the phone was incorrect and mothers are welcome to breastfeed anywhere on the aircraft that is safe and comfortable for them, including their seats. Keep reading to hear more details about this story.

The airline’s breastfeeding policy is readily available on its website. VandenBerg sent out another tweet that explained their current policy, and then she added an addendum. VandenBerg wrote: “@AirCanada Breastfeeding policy: ‘We’re also happy to support breastfeeding on board our aircraft, whenever safety permits’...in the lavatory.”

A representative from Air Canada named Max posted a tweet in response to the mom’s original message. It said: “Hi Stephanie, we can confirm we support breastfeeding on board our aircraft and you are welcome to nurse your baby wherever you feel comfortable on board.”

Vandenberg replied: “To clarify, this was a telephone conversation with an Air Canada Representative to arrange flying with an infant. I have reached out to Air Canada on multiple fronts (direct through website, Facebook direct message, and Twitter DM) and am waiting to be contacted.”

The airline also stated that they have spoken to the call center employee that gave the wrong information and all call center representatives have been provided with the correct information moving forward. They said the person that VandenBerg spoke to was new to the job and did not know the current policy.

A flight attendant saw the tweet from Air Canada to VandenBerg and added to the conversation: “No flight attendant would tell you to hide in a lav. We actually encourage mothers to breastfeed if they want as it helps with the baby’s ears!” 

Hopefully, VandenBerg was able to have a comfortable flight. Now, thanks to her tweet, other moms are aware of their ability to breastfeed on Air Canada flights. 

apost.com

What do you think of this situation? Do you have an opinion on breastfeeding in public? Let us know and feel free to pass this along to your friends and loved ones.