Breastfeeding mother kicked off plane, what would you do?

Just some idle observations:

The simple fact of the matter is the attendent came along with the blanket - meaning the mother was not as discrete as she thought she was. Someone had to have complained or the attendant noticed her in spite of her discretion.

Secondly, she left because she didn't want to make a scene and felt embarassed, which **to me** means that in spite of her 'legal right' to breast feed in public, she wasn't comfortable enough to articulate her circomstances or her previous certainty of 'legal right' to the ticket agent who asked her to leave.

Lastly, the incident occurred on October 13th and the complaint against the two airline companies was filed last week - which (to me) means she wasn't offended enough to file the complaint immediately after the incident and was therefore steered towards that by friends or her attourney.

I'm sure someone did complain, hence the whole blanket thing. That's what I find so sad.. that someone couldn't look the other way for 10 or 15 minutes while a mother fed her child.

She may or may not have been discreet.... I guess we'll never know for sure. I'd like to think she was being discreet since she was an experienced breastfeeding mother... but I guess you never know. Even if she wasn't all that discreet.. I would't have a problem with it because I know she was doing it for a purpose, but again.. that's just me.

The fact that the incident happened on the 13th of october and she filed much later really doesn't mean much. Law suits take time. She may have not seeked legal advice right away because she may not have realized she had the right to file such a case until she shared her experience.

She may have been embarrassed by the whole ordeal because they made such a big deal out of it. I really doubt she was embarrassed about breastfeeding or not being quite as discreet as they may have wanted her to be.... I'm not really sure, it's just the way I see the whole thing.

In this day of political correctness, and businesses walking on pins and needles to avoid offending anyone, I find it hard to believe that they put a mother off a plane for breastfeeding.

I bet there's another side to this story that we're not hearing.

questions

Ok--the toddler was 22 mo old? Would they really need to be bf'd on a plane? It was my understanding that most 22mo old are interested in sippy cups and cheerios. I know there are some that bf until 5 but I must say there would be a differance between a mom bf'ing a newborn 'discreetly' next to me on a plane and a 22 mo old squirming around suckling. Perhaps that's my problem! LOL
I probably would not ask to be moved--but I would come home and joke about it with all my friends and co workers and may even post about how uncomfortable I was on a a CF board...LOL..
Planes generally aren't very warm--if the reason she wouldn't use a blanket is because it was so hot I would think she would be prepared with something light like a sheet or a cloth of very light fabric.
I think what makes the people on 'the other side of the fence' get mad about the situation is because of the entitlement some mothers have about how 'natuuurall' and how 'byootiful' it is. I think it is quite natural to use curse words in public however I'm try to refrain from doing so as I may offend the small children in the booth next to us. The same can be said for covering up when asked. In the end the rules on a plane are just that. You have to do what they say and it doesn't matter what anyone things on either side of the matter....

Fair enough, Nancy.

I'm drawing my conclusions from:
This, to me means her embarrasment stemmed from both being caught and being asked to leave.

Secondly,
Couple that with the fact the flight attendant had the blanket right off the bat, I question her overall discretion.

In her defense, whoever ratted her out was **IM Not So HO** some tight-@ss who had too much time on **in all likelyhood** his hands.

As for my last point - having never filed a complaint of that nature, I will have to yield to people who know better than I how the system works. But I would think you could get a human rights complaint filed in less than three weeks (article was dated November 14th so her complaint was actually filed around November 7th). And I wouldn't think you'd need a lawyer to file that complaint. But again, I can only speculate as I haven't had to get into that, myself.

im wondering if the issue in this case was NOT that she was brestfeeding or whether or not she was doing it discreetly or not...
im wondering if someone complained because the baby was a toddler and in this country its considered WEIRD or even so much as wrong to be brestfeeding a child of that age.

note: im just posing another possible angle for this.
im european, i traveled europe from the age of 3 months old, yes i spent the majority of my life in england, where thoughts are quite not so giving as other places in europe, im used to women brestfeeding their babies untill around 2 yrs old, im used to people OPENLY talk about topics that are considered so taboo, ie sex, drinking, ect.
to me brestfeeding is so natural that i dont give a brestfeeding mother a second glance and the only issue id have with a brestfeeding mother on a plane is if it was very crowded and the kid was kicking me...(which happend) my issue was not with the brestfeeding it was the fact that the mother could have easily turned her body slightly, still been comofrtable and reposition the child enough so that it woundt have kicked me...
my respoce was to simply get up and go to the bathroom by the time i got back she had finnished feeding and back to the uncofortable seats...

i have to say, since moving to the US im AMAZED at how close minded people are! its insane that somehting like a breastfeeding mother could cause such controversy or arguments...if the woman had taken her top of and danced around flashing everyone her breasts...then i could see why people would get offended...(though in all honesty i probbaly myself wouldnt notice) but a breastfeeding mother who was trying to be discrete, whether she ws sucedding or not would depend on opinion, if youve flown you know how cramped regular flight quarters are and how it would be difficult to manouver a toddler to brestfeed in a way that would be even more discreet in a larger space, no offence but if anyone has a problem with it there more closed minded than i origionally realized...

i dont think this should ever be an issue...and i think europe has a much better veiw on these issues...
personally i think the US in general has a stick up its butt, relax a little, a brestfeeding mother is NOTHIGN to be discusted at...

and for the record its not considered indeacent exposure unless they could plainly see a nipple...and since the nipple would have been in the childs mouth....

You are absolutely right... a 22 month old is interested in sippy cups and finger foods. I personally would never breastfeed a 22 month old... but there are women out there that do. And if that child was used to being breastfed on a regular basis despite the fact that they may eat finger foods and sip on sippy cups.. it will make a very unhappy flight for many to hear a crying child who doesn't understand why they can't have what they are used to having.

I think that covering with a light sheet or something that allows air to pass through is completely appropriate. Most breastfeeding mothers equip their diaper bags with something of that nature. For whatever reason, this particular mother chose not to cover her child up with a blanket.

I can't even imagine breastfeeding my child until they were 5 years old and yet, I've heard of cases where some do that :yikes:

I fimly believe if your child is old enough to eat baby foods and drink from a sippy cup... it's time to wean them from the breast because it then becomes a security thing rather than a nutritive reason.

I can see both sides to this.
Im just so tired of people in general. What business was it of anyones if she was feeding her baby or not? If the general public does not want to see this then make restrooms with a small room with a couch so a mom can go there and breast feed. They make special areas for smokers or have designated smoking areas.

I also wanted to add that what about those people who have explicid bumper stickers, paint jobs on thier vehicles, t-shirts, jackets, hats, ect...Why dont they make them stay away from public areas? Why not make them take off their innapropriate clothes? THEY DONT. Everyone is just allowed to go around purposly offending others while mom who are not trying to offend anyone get a bad rap.
To me this makes no sense. PFFFT!
Heres your sign.

this is why i am SO greatful i was raised by european parents.

I personally feel that something has been left out of the original story . Who knows . I fed all three of mine , and since I was in the minority 40-50 years ago , I would have felt uncomfortable nursing in public. I'm glad it's more accepted now as it is a natural function . It's odd that we can go to a zoo and ooo and aww over animals feeding their young , but for humans it's sometimes shunned . I sure wasn't given 2 boobs to attact the opposite sex.

That's perfect, and expresses perfectly what what I was thinking. Either

a) She wasn't being particularly discreet

or

b) Someone (flight attendant or fellow passenger) was being unusually eagle-eyed and kicked up a fuss for the fun of it.

I could believe either scenario. I've met snotty flight attendants and people who delight in making life hellish for others. But some of the 'breast is best' posts here make clear the moral high ground-grabbing of beastfeeding proponents - which means it's very possible that the woman was being proudly or indifferently open about what she was doing.

I think that there's just a different cultural standard, and while the 'you guys are too uptight about sex and nudity' has its points, it's kind of been talked to death as a ringing indictment of the US. We're not exactly like Europeans. Shocking.

Also, part of that difference (and part of the reluctance people have to seeing children breastfed in public, especially if they're pushing 24 months) may be related to another often-discussed aspect of American life - how badly behaved our kids are. Maybe in Europe, you can smile at the Madonnaesque appeal of a suckling toddler because when you deplane, an assortment of children ranging in age from 3-13 will not be walking into you, cursing loudly at you, screaming in your ear, stepping on your feet, banging into you, staring dully at you while doing something currently fined by the FCC, and performing a variety of other disturbing behaviors while cries of "Taylor! Taylor! Taylor! Taylor" and "Justin! Justin! Justin! Justin" echo endlessly through the air from parents who are busy doing virtually anything that doesn't involve actually physically relating to their children.

The way I see it if we're in a society where it's acceptable for sex to be all over the media.. in magazine ads, tv ads, music videos... and it's unacceptable for someone to comfortably nurse their child for fear of seeing a *scary scary* nipple, something effed up!

Exactly my point! Why is explicit and offending things less offensive than a mother breast feeding. I would like one time for someone to complain about someones t-shirt that has profanity on it and them offered a different shirt or they cant get on that plane.

Okay, now I feel better. I was beginning to think I was the only one feeling the way I was feeling about this whole breastfeeding thing.

That's why I kept saying other things offend me far more than a breastfeeding mother. The list could go on and on with what people in society in general do that are offensive to others for good reason.

I understand rules.. but I also wonder why a breasfeeding woman is thought of as offensive but yet someone with a shirt that says "professional muff divers association" with a cartoon picture to go with the saying is not offensive.

I guess this is one of those gray areas and is always going to be a matter of controversy. All I know is that I would welcome a breastfeeding mother to feed her infant in my company.. it wouldn't bother me one bit.

What I don't understand is how it seems to be okay to plaster boobs and butts all over late night tv, or not so late night tv anymore; but it's not okay to do something that is soo natural. Along the lines of what Grammy said, Breasts were given to women for a purpose, contrary to many beliefs, they are not strictly for the sexual pleasure of men.

I breastfed my two older sons, and wanted to breastfeed Gabriel longer then I was able to with the other two. With his brain injury from birth, he slowly started to suck, and we started with bottles. Then he lost the suck reflux, and now I don't get the chance. He has a mickey-a little plastic tube in his tummy, and that is how I feed him.

I do see some from the other side, as far as discretion goes...I myself always felt uncomfortable breastfeeding in public, and would usually feed them at home before we left, or go the car/truck while we were out. But that was just my own modesty.

I would imagine most women would rather feed in a private setting. But lets face it... babies have their own schedule and throw ours to the wind...lol.

Granted this was not an infant she was feeding. Maybe it was a comfort measure. Maybe the child was becoming irritable and loud and her breast was comfort to the child.

I love babies, toddlers, kids... not so much teenagers though...lol. And although I love babies.. I would not want to be on a flight listening to one cry the entire time. A 22 month old is not going to understand that it's okay to suckle off momma at home but not out in public. They want gratification right then and there. So, that must have been a tough situation to be in.

My first thought was why not feed before boarding, somewhere discreet in the terminal, its a short flight, right?
But about thirty seconds of internet reasearch reveals that the flight was delayed taking-off for three hours, which makes it all more understandable (irritated passengers and crew, and baby needing feeding again long after they should have arrived)...
http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=28896&cat=SANTAFE
..and the attendant was disciplined

Just because I enjoy playing devils advocate.......

Why is seeing boobs and butts so unnatural in comparison to breast feeding?....well, okay - excluding the silicone and lipo-suction

Blow jobs and breastfeeding on a plane... I'm SO THERE!!!! Lets join the mile high club shall we

Not sure what to say... I bottle fed my kids... I tried nursing but it was hard.. they were demanding and I wasn't supplying fast enough.. the bottle did the job.

I have never heard of a breast feeding mom getting kicked off a plane till now.. and I'm sure there are tons of mothers who breastfeed their babies on planes everyday, and you don't see them getting kicked off planes daily, so I'm thinking there is more to this story then what the mother is saying...

Oh... and I used to warm babies bottles in the microwave...