Woman says flight attendant shamed her for breastfeeding as 'there was men and children around'
Emily Puckering
Featured Image Credit: Marc Romanelli/Getty Images / Pexels
A woman has claimed a flight attendant 'shamed' her for breastfeeding her child while onboard a flight because there was 'men and children' around.
While breastfeeding is one of the most natural and normal things a parent can do, sadly a stigma still exists and some continue to consider it inappropriate in certain spaces.
And a recent example has come from a woman who was on a flight when she decided to feed her baby, much to the dismay of a flight attendant.
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Taking to Reddit to vent her frustrations, the anonymous mum explained how she was breastfeeding her 5-month-old daughter when a flight attendant said she 'needed to cover up' because 'there were men and children around'.
"My daughter was fully latched and had been the entire flight, so there was no nipple or even areola showing," the mum explained.
"The top of my breast was showing, but…I mean, I used to show more cleavage on a weekend night out. Swimsuits show more."
She continued: "I explained, of course, that my daughter won’t eat or sleep while covered, and was told this didn’t matter. I still needed to cover up.
"When I asked if this was a policy, I was told it was 'common courtesy'. That’s the phrase this woman kept repeating. 'Common courtesy'."
The mum even claimed another flight attendant said a parent had 'complained over their child seeing that', much to her disbelief.
"My baby cried for the final 45 minutes of the flight," she said. "I tried to get her to nurse covered. She refused. The people around us were clearly frustrated. I don’t blame them. I was frustrated too.
"I feel like I failed her. I feel like I should have refused to cover up and should have nursed her openly like I planned.
"I hated listening to her cry, hated struggling to hold her while her head was covered, hated dealing with back pain as I tried to hold her in a way where she’d get comfortable."
She then added: "I think the 'men and children' comment upset me the most. The message I received was that the feeding of my child was either sexualized, for men, or inappropriate, for children, and I can’t decide which idea upsets me more."
Well, the mum certainly wasn't alone in feeling frustrated and upset by the shaming, as her fellow Redditors were equally as furious.
One wrote: "I’d. Be. Livid. I’m so sorry that happened to you. I totally get the feeling of shock though and trying to cover up, sometimes I’d probably do the same thing. But what the actual f**k."
And another said of the parents who complained: "As a parent, WHY wouldn’t you simply explain to your child that they’re seeing a Mommy feed their baby!
"The child will stop asking if offered a simple explanation. The parent is the one making it weird and blown out of proportion."
The woman later updated her Reddit post to explain the airline in question had got in touch with her after she filed a complaint, but she claims all she got was a meaningless apology and no action was taken.