asked to breastfeed in the toilets on train!!

[Channicholls]

i was on a northern rail train yesterday with my 3 month old daughter. she required feeding. I was sat behind my pram and no one could see what I was doing.

When the ticket collector came to check tickets he asked if I could do what I was doing in the toilets. I responded by saying 'what breastfeeding' and he said yes. I told him I was fine where I was and didn't move and he left it. during the whole exchange he had his hand up and was making faces as though what I was doing was perverse.

I was really embarrassed and left feeling extremely uncomfortable and with everyone in the carriage watching me.

I called Northern rail today to make a complaint and was told by them that there was nothing they could do and its down to personal preference of conductors.

what are my next steps? I feel like I was treated badly and that this shouldn't be allowed by such a large company (or anyone for that matter).

[5madthings]

Er would 'Andy' like to explain how northern rail are compliant with the equality act?!! They clearly are not!

[CbeebiesIsMyLife]

but 5 mad things as long as they are 'in line' with other service providers thats obviously ok. wankers

[HardlyMotherTheresa]

I have emailed Ian Bevan (MD)

I think the equality act only applied to discrimination in terms of services and employment. It is not clear that being able to eat on a train is a "service" that passengers enjoy and so it is not clear that the Equality Act applies to it (hence Northern Rail's claim that they comply). But they should be jolly well ashamed of themselves and the law should come into line with Scottish law and make that kind of attitude illegal.

I'll let you know if I get a reply.

[Copthallresident]

Email sent Dear Mr Bevan

I he just learnt from a contributor to Mumsnet that one of your Conductors thought it appropriate to tell her she should breastfeed in the toilets, and that upon complaining she was advised this was a matter for the Conductor. I appreciate that this is hearsay but I am very concerned that I have family who breastfeed who use your trans and I want to ensure that you have policies in place to prevent this happening to them. I am sure that your organisation appreciates that a woman?s right to breastfeed in public is protected by law and that, in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility, most organisations recognise that given the health benefits of breastfeeding they should be seen to support it, and certainly not contribute to the stigma and difficulty women encounter. Worryingly breastfeeding rates recently dropped for the first time in a long time so it is a very current issue affecting Health Policy and the NHS, for whom I understand other divisions of your company work. I would therefore be grateful if you could clarify your policy on Breastfeeding and the training etc. in place to ensure it is implemented consistently, and the law not broken, so that I can reassure my relations, or if it is inadequate, decide whether to pursue this with government and your main Board.

Regards


MBA, MMRS, MCIM

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Will email now. Still think a mumsnet mass bf sit in would be good but don't want to line their pockets

[DoodleAlley]

I barely want to go to the toilet in train toilets let alone feed in them.

I have a three month old who is breast fed and am considering going by train to visit family members. I shall be making sure I avoid Northern Rain if at all possible given the potential discrimination against me as a breastfeeding mother.

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Could you please clarify Northern Rail's stance on breastfeeding on your trains.
An issue has been raised on Mumsnet that a lady breastfeeding was asked to move to the train toilet- is this the way in which you would encourage your staff to behave?
I will avoid using your service if breastfeeding is frowned upon as I'm not willing to feed my child in a toilet or let her go hungry in case a member of you staff finds it offensive


Sent

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Is there facebook group/page set up for this? Not on twitter

[Didactylos]

its also pretty damn poor for people who might need to use the train toilets during the time they want you to feed in there

[5madthings]

There is a northern rail fb page, it doesn't accept comments on their own it just posts things they want to publicize but you can then comment on those things iyswim?

One is an event re museums etc in York..if you travel by northern rail you then get discounted entry... I may have commented along the lines of his nice it would have been to take my kids in the summer but now I can't rake them in northern rail due to their attitude towards bfeeding mothers...

[GrimmaTheNome]

its also pretty damn poor for people who might need to use the train toilets during the time they want you to feed in there

well yes. My DD used to feed approx. 40 minutes in every hour!

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Anyone else had this email back

The message was quarantined because you appear to be an unknown sender. To become a known sender and have your messages accepted in the future you will need to reply to this message and append the word RELEASE (not case sensitive) to the subject of your reply.

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[FattyMcChubster]

This has made me really really mad! I don't normally get this mad about things but just the thought of having to bf in a train toilet makes me .

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Done it guess if they've just set that up he's getting bombarded :)

[SauvignonBlanche]

That's outrageous!

[Quangle]

I was just going to say, I'm livid on the OP's behalf but I would also be annoyed as a train user if the toilets were out of use for an hour while someone fed a baby.

Can we launch some sort of flash mob event where the OP does as instructed and bfs her baby in the toilets and my DS (3) screams and shouts that he needs a wee and hops about in the carriage annoying all the other passengers and then does a wee on her vacant seat because the toilet was occupied

[HardlyMotherTheresa]

wishful Yes, I got that back but followed the instructions and then got a confirmation that my original email was now through to its recipient (Ian Bevan). It's an anti spam filter, tis all.

[WhistlingBay]

Someone should email him a link to this thread so he can see, not only the outrage, but also the very valid point about the toilets being occupied for a long period of time.

On twitter, Andy has said that they need to speak to the conductor incase there was a misunderstanding.

I can see the need to speak to the conductor but I don't think this can in anyway be construed as a 'misunderstanding.'

[fedupwithdeployment]

I have emailed Mr Bevan. Will post any reply.

[HardlyMotherTheresa]

Copthall MMRS? Manchester Model Railway Society? Appropriate for a rail company email I guess.

[Copthallresident]

Yes but it looks like a pretty standard security filter to stop SPAM etc. No CEO involved with the public sector, and most in the private sector, could ignore or filter emails sent by the public and most would have what is known as a "flag case" procedure that gathers the info necessary for a reply to be written in the CEOs name. I have done what it asked, we'll see if I get a reply. Pity if it's not actually illegal but the Corporate Social Responsibility and Customer Service / Marketing issues remain.

[fedupwithdeployment]

I got the same email as Wishfulmakeupping.

I have tried again.

Never ever had that before ... perhaps he gets a lot of similar mail!

[Copthallresident]

If only, I have always fancied a model railway but DDs' interest stopped at Brio, and I would also love to live back oop north Far more boring and prosaic but doesn't hurt to add in a few professional qualifications (Market Research Society)

[Shallishanti]

hm, equalities act, surely not compliant-
the service they are providing is travel
a woman who is bf is 'not allowed' to sit in the same seats as everyone else
hence, she is being discriminated against

[Shallishanti]

Like Quangle's suggestion