Me: Hi. I'm traveling with a nine month old baby and was wondering if I could bring puréed food for him for the flight?
Customer Service Rep (CSR): Hold, please.
<insert musical interlude here>
CSR: Yes. Food and milk is not restricted to the 3oz. rule. You may bring both but you need to advise the workers at the security checkpoint.
Me: We're breastfeeding. Is there a problem with that?
CSR: Hold, please.
<insert musical interlude here>
CSR: From what I can see, the milk has to be in a bottle but it is not subject to the 3oz. rule.
Me: It needs to be in a bottle?
CSR: Yes.
Me: Are you sure?
CSR: Yes, the milk needs to be in a bottle.
Me: OK. Thank you.
It occurs to me that I have never actually fed Henry with a bottle. Why would I, I'm breastfeeding him, which in its very essence negates the need for a bottle. So I did some fact checking. If there is going to be a scene on the plane because Henry gets spastic and I go to shut him up with my boob, I want to know what my rights are.
Oregon currently has three specific breastfeeding laws on the books:
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 109.001 (1999) allows a woman to breastfeed in a public place. (SB 744)
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 10.050 (1999) excuses a woman from acting as a juror if the woman is breastfeeding a child. (SB 1304)
- Or. Rev. Stat. § 653.075, §653.077 and §653.256 (2007) allow women to have unpaid 30 minute breaks during each four hour shift to breastfeed or pump. (H.B. 2372)
- Utah Code Ann. § 17-15-25 (1995) states that city and county governing bodies may not inhibit a woman's right to breastfeed in public.
- Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1229.5 (1995) states that a breastfeeding woman is not in violation of any obscene or indecent exposure laws. (H.B. 262)
12 comments:
I've known tons of people who've nursed on planes and I've never heard of a single person who's been given any grief. I think the hardest part is if you're at all shy... and I don't get a real shy vibe from you. ;)
I've had many friends nurse on planes before. The only problem I've ever heard of is if a single male traveler is sitting next to you -- it can be distinctly uncomfortable for him and possibly for you. Most (not all) men that I know that are pro-breastfeeding, would still be shifting uncomfortably in their seat if seated next to a breastfeeding woman.
If I were honest, I would say I even feel a tad uncomfortable, and I breastfed (as much as I could, which was not much). But I am very poor with personal space issues in general. :)
Having now taken Erin on 8 flights I can tell you this: most flight attendants/passengers welcome it because it means the kiddo will have a better flight, and everyone around will have a better flight. I got grief from one flight attendant between NYC and Baltimore, where she wouldn't look at us and just handed us a blanket, presumably to "cover up" (we never got the hang of the bebe au lait). I smiled, took it from her and wedged it behind my back.
I do have my Hooter Hiders but Henry will often bat it out of the way so he can see what's happening around him. I don't mind lifting my shirt and breaking out the boob if he's hungry but I do make an effort to be as discreet as I can be, once he's latched on, I'll lower my shirt to lessen the amount of skin exposure. Thankfully, I'm sitting next to my traveling partner, Ann, and we're in a 2-seat row so it'll just be us.
I just breastfed Aidan back-and-forth from Colorado. We didn't have any problems. And like Ms. A said, I think fellow passengers were delighted that my son was eating, dozing, and taking it easy. Have a great trip!
Sounds like you've got it all covered (no pun intended). The only other advice I can pass along from friends (as someone who's, as yet, been to chicken to fly with a nursing-aged baby) is to do what you can to make sure the babe's hungry during take-off and/or landing. The sucking will help their ears immensely and hopefully eliminate much of the fussiness (and for older kids, dum-dums are the way to go!).
I've nursed plenty on planes. In business class and in cattle class. I've never had a soul mention anything besides "what a great baby". Hmmm, I think they prefer breastfeeding over crying. You are of course flying evil Delta and they got in mega trouble over their breastfeeding incident (so now they're super sensitive) so I would take off your entire top in protest :).
.... and of course report back as to how it went!
Have a fantastic trip.
Anything I've ever read about flying w/ babies says to nurse them (or give them a bottle). I'm sure you'll be fine, as long as you're comfortable - especially since you know who you're sitting next to.
Have fun!
I would consider the plane a public place. But I would support your right to breastfeed. I do not agree that the milk has to be transferred from the container it is already in to another, less convenient container just to satisfy anonymous plane officials. The original container is fine, thank you, and has worked for thousands of years.
A breastfeeding mom certainly doesn't have to express breastmilk for the plane just to put it in a bottle container. I didn't realize that's what your original post was asking -- now that I read it, I understand. I think the airplane rep was just answering the question "IF you had ebm, how are you allowed to transport it when on the plane?" There was a big deal when the 3oz rule came into effect because mothers who had to exclusively pump breast milk for their children, and traveled for work, could no longer carry the ebm on the plane. They had to (no joke) get dry ice or something similar and pack it and check it in regular luggage. So a few months (a year?) later, the ebm moms were able to get the rules changed for how breastmilk could be transported on an airplane so that they could carry it onboard in a cooler. So depending on how you worded your question, and how detailed (or not) your customer service rep was, they might have been answering a different question from what you asked.
Not that I expect you'll encounter any trouble on the plane, but I do recall hearing some discussion on the radio about how the age of consent is lower in-flight than it is in most states. It was a very sophisticated and tasteful discussion, as you can probably imagine. So if you believe the folks on the radio, as soon as you leave the ground, it's the federal statutes that you need to worry about, not those of the state you're leaving or entering.
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