Mom Calls Out Popular Airline On Twitter After She Was Told Breastfeed Her BabyIn The Airplane Bathroom

Air travel can be a stressful thing for many people. But air travel when involving an infant? Yeah… I don’t to even imagine how freakin’ stressful that is.

And Stephanie VandenBerg, mother to an infant, recently found this out the hard way.

VandenBerg called ahead in order to make all those necessary arrangements and was completely shocked at what the representative on the phone advised her to do when she asked the ever-so-important question any mom who has an infant most likely would ask; “Where am I able to breastfeed my baby?”

Well, an Air Canada representative reportedly told Stephanie that the “appropriate” place to breastfeed her hungry child would be in the airplane bathroom. THE AIRPLANE BATHROOM! Can you imagine!?

Understandably, that phone call left the new mother completely angry and rattled… and as most people seem to do these days whenever they’re feeling angry and rattled, she immediately took to Twitter in order to share her great frustration with the airline.

But let’s be honest – Air Canada is far from the first airline that demonstrates inconsistencies in its own breastfeeding policy.

And no other mothers have also jumped in on the ole’ bandwagon and chimed in to share their own stories of successes and failures when it comes to breastfeeding while flying. Many also cited various laws that actually protect a mother’s right to breastfeed wherever and whenever she and her baby feel most comfortable.

This incident is yet another unfortunate example of the insane and unnecessary struggle nursing mothers go through while they’re merely trying to care for their children in public areas without the fear of being harassed or feeling ashamed.

According to  People, Stephanie VandenBerg recently contacted the Canadian airline ahead of her flight in order to arrange travel for both herself and her baby. Y’know, being a responsible mom and all that.

Here’s how it all unfolded:

Dear @AirCanada: It is never okay to recommend a woman breastfeed her infant in an airplane lavatory. Nor would I like to be referred to your medical line to discuss this further. If you would like to eat your dinner there, by all means, but my infant son will not be joining you

— Stephanie VandenBerg (@StephVDBG) March 4, 2019

After being left nothing short of disgusted by the response her inquiry received during the phone call, Stephanie swiftly took to Twitter in order to share her unsavory experience with Air Canada and it’s representatives.

While she was on the phone with Air Canada, a representative advised her that if she wished (like women can control it, right?) to breastfeed her child inflight, then the appropriate place to do so would be in the airplane bathroom. So thoughtful of them.

When I flew with my infant I never asked a booking agent in advance if I could nurse him or where. Were you directly instructed to nurse your baby in the toilet? I’m curious about how the issue even came up.

— Denise Ryan (@deniseoryan) March 7, 2019

Understandably, Stephanie’s tweet raised a LOT of questions. In fact, people were downright outraged that anyone would even dare to suggest such a ridiculous and inconsiderate thing to a new mom.

Egad. Feeding oUr babies had always been the best way to keep them happy during the descent.

And I'd really hate for the lavatory to be occupied by someone trying to breastfeed a tough latcher while my youngest has to pee RIGHT NOW.

— Addleben (@Addleben) March 4, 2019

And suddenly, a whoooole host of mothers replied to Stephanie’s tweet (and if there’s one group of people you do NOT want to upset – it’s new mothers) explaining exactly why that policy made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

There are actually a very large number of reasons why that is impractical.

Stephanie then followed up her original tweet by linking everybody to Air Canada’s breastfeeding policy. She then amended it according to the reported phone conversation she’d had with the representative herself.

Many also reached out to Stephanie in order to check to see if she was aware of her rights. They wanted her to know that she was well within her rights if she wanted to pursue legal action since it was 100% a violation of her human rights.

In fact, many, many airlines encourage mothers to actually breastfeed their babies during landing or takeoff. As experienced parents noted in their own responses, this can help to keep a baby from crying and disrupting fellow passengers. It will also lessen pain and pressure for the little one… which I guess does make sense.

There was another woman who responded with her own story, and it suggests that this behavior may not be anything new for this particular airline. In her instance, it was actually a flight attendant who tried to tell her that she should nurse her own child in the bathroom in the midst of her flight. Like, she said that to her FACE. Insane.

On the other hand, however, other mothers responded by saying that they hadn’t experienced that same issue with Air Canada. It appears that there isn’t very much clarity across the airline’s own staff members when concerning the breastfeeding policy.

Perhaps it’s just a case of putting a better training program in place?

Air Canada’s social media team soon responded to Stephanie’s tweet in the hope of enforcing the airline’s “actual” breastfeeding policy. They asserted that Stephanie was more than welcome to feed her baby wherever she felt most comfortable to do so.

Alas – it can be hard to please everyone, no matter what you do. And many didn’t feel as though the reply from Air Canada was satisfactory enough. For one thing, the airline never actually apologized.

Stephanie then went on to clarify the situation to the representative who Tweeted at her. She felt that she needed to let him know that despite contacting the airline by many various means, she hadn’t received any direct contact back. Which to me, is absolutely shocking.

Obviously, many people are very understandably frustrated whenever they hear about experiences like Stephanie’s… which in 2019 should most definitely not be taking place. The idea that women need to hide while breastfeeding is not only incredibly antiquated but also in this particular situation, could prove incredibly dangerous!

Breastfeeding mothers MORE than deserve to be treated with both respect and dignity – after all, without these women giving birth, none of us would freakin’ be here. There is absolutely no reason for a woman who is caring for her child to feel as though she has to hide. Like, AT ALL.

How do you feel about this one, folks? Have you ever had a similar experience when it comes to breastfeeding, literally anywhere? Or maybe you know of someone who has? Either way, let me know in the comments! And don’t forget to share this with your friends and family so that they can share their own experiences too! AAx

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