A mother-of-four has shared her disgrace with the airline easyJet due to being told to stop breastfeeding her one year old son, Lex, as the plane was taking off.
According to Fox News, Kelly Edgsson-Payne was left “mortified” when the male flight attendant insisted she stop mid-feed, and strap her child in to the seat next to her.
“It’s just absolutely crazy that I was told that I couldn’t feed him — crazy, and really embarrassing for me,” Kelly, from Rochester, said.
“The law in the U.K. says it protects breastfeeding mothers — and even easyJet’s own website says mothers are welcome to breastfeed at any time during a flight.”
Kelly was travelling with her husband and four children when the incident occurred, which left her and her baby visibly upset.
"I'm not afraid to breastfeed my baby wherever — I've stopped at a break point during a marathon before and fed him - but this left me embarrassed and in tears."
"I had to very quickly cover myself up — but my breasts were still leaking milk, because I had stopped mid-feed. Even my eldest daughter, who is 9, said, 'Mummy, they can't tell you not to breastfeed him.'"
Kelly further explained the necessity for her son Lex to be breastfeed during take off, saying babies' ears have a propensity to pop during takeoff, causing them great discomfort.
According to Kelly, what irritated her the most was not only the discrimination she faced, but also the lack of consistency from the airline when she enquired about their rules concerning mothers who need to breastfeed.
"Most other cabin crew would actually encourage breastfeeding during takeoff, because it distracts them and stops them from crying … I've never before been told that I can't feed Lex, or any of my other children — and we've flown with him about 16 times in the last year."
A female member of the cabin crew apparently apologised for the episode soon after, telling Kelly:"'I'm sorry about that, ignore him, he's wrong.'"
The lack of uniformity by easyJet's staff members continued even after the plane ride, when Kelly emailed customer service about the incident.
"On their website they state, 'We support breastfeeding mothers and you can feed your baby on board at any time.' But when I emailed their customer services about it afterwards, I was told, 'Passengers are allowed to breastfeed their babies on board the aircraft, as long as you are doing this in a discreet manner.'"
Kelly also revealed to the publication that she was given a £25 ($45) voucher by the easyJet as compensation for the discrimination.
A spokesperson for the airline confirmed that mothers are indeed allowed to breastfeed whenever need be.
And as for the discreet comment by the customer service staff member? "It is not our policy to ask mothers to be discreet and we make this very clear in our training," the airline insisted.
Kelly hopes that by bringing this incident to light, no other breastfeeding-mother will have to experience the same discrimination she faced.
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Top Comments
Infants under two do not get their own seat unless their parents specifically pay for a seat. All airlines provide the parent holding the infant with a special infant seat belt that threads through the adult seat belt. This is IATA rules. Even when a child is under two and has their own seat, every flight attendant has insisted my child sit on my lap with the infant seat belt. It is possible to breastfeed on take off and landing while your child is wearing this infant seat belt.
This is from the easy jet website:
If they’re under 2 years old, your child can sit on your lap during the flight using an infant / extension seatbelt when applicable. You only pay a fixed fee of £22 for this
infants under the age of two years are not allocated a seat automatically, but you can book them a separate seat if you feel they’ll be more comfortable that way. They’ll need a car seat that’s suitable for their age, weight and height as recommended by the manufacturer – please see guidelines below. Alternatively, a restraint device (CARES) may be able to be used if in accordance with weight/ height guidelines – please see guidelines below.
This article does not go into detail as to whether the baby had its own seat or if the child had a seat belt.
This is total bullshit. I am in favor of breast-feeding whenever and wherever a mother wants but there are some exceptions. In my opinion one of them is the moment of take-off on a plane. Imagine what could happen if a sudden gust of wind blows from the side while the plane is leaving ground? The baby may fall from the mother’s lap to the floor and hurt or even kill itself, hitting the metal parts of the seat. The responsibility would be laid on the airline personnel, because EVERY passenger should have his seat-belt fastened during take-off and it is the personnel’s duty to see to it. Even more. If such a case occurs, the mother can sue the ailine for not providing safety to her and her child.
In addition, the pressurization of the cabin causes pain but as long as he advised they were taking off, it's on the mom, in my opinion. To say that she was 'in tears and humiliated' sounds like she needs to get a spine, or is looking for a lawsuit. Good luck...