to think something is wrong with the story about mum being made to stand and breastfeed on the train?

[PAlm5]

Longest title ever? Sorry!

Breastfeeding mum forced to stand on rush hour train www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-45421266

Anyone think this is a little... fishy? I'm 8 months pregnant and am ALWAYS offered a seat. I've also never not been offered a seat when I've had a tiny baby in a sling with me (though that hasn't been for a little while now).

I really, REALLY don't think that on a full carriage that nobody bothered to offer a breast feeding mum a seat?

Maybe I'm naive or people in the Midlands, on extremely jam packed trains are just nicer than elsewhere, but I just can't get my head round this.

Has anyone ever experienced this before?

Also, surely it's not safe to stand on a train and breastfeed? I would absolutely just ask someone to move, or if too nervous I would ask the conductor to help me as it's genuinely unsafe to stand a breastfeed a baby on a train at the same time.

Just. Hmm. Weird..

Yet another special snowflake who doesn't ask for a seat then gets pissed off that nobody read her mind. What's the breastfeeding got to do with it? She's holding the baby either way. It's like she wants extra martyr points.

She said she shouldn't have to ask someone to move, but she had a responsibility to ensure her baby's safety, so she should have just asked anyway.

I usually look up to check the passengers getting on the bus/train at each stop. If the baby was in a buggy when she got on, I would have probably looked up from my book, seen she didn't need a seat then carried on reading, not noticing she was breastfeeding at all.....
Also, she either had someone with her to take the photo who could have asked someone to move, or it was a selfie (couldn't tell from the angle) so she was putting her baby in further danger by not concentrating and was just doing it to make a silly point...

"Mrs Hitchens, who writes about baby-led weaning on her blog, Hitchen's Kitchen"

Oh god... she's one of them. A mummy blogger.

@ThanksHunkyJesus I just don't get it. I wouldn't breastfeed standing up in a train. It's so dangerous. I would've asked someone if I could have their seat. Not just continue and get upset nobody moved for me and put my baby at risk by standing. Just bizarre.

Oh shes a mummy blogger, says everything.

These breastfeesing dramas always turn out to be false. I don't believe her either and I use public transport daily 🤷‍♀️

I once sat on the floor of a crowded train to breastfeed my daughter. It was so full that I was in the lobby area near the doors and it was almost impossible to actually get to the seats to sleep for one. At the next stop some people got off and then someone offered me a seat.

Looks like a selfie to me. Not much to hold on to because she had her phone in her hand maybe? I don't buy this story one bit.

I’ve not read the story but I’m always surprised at things like this. I’ve never ever not been offered a seat travelling round London whilst pregnant (admittedly I travelled very few times during rush hour, but still) and also I think it’s absurd not to ask for a seat just to prove a point that you ‘shouldn’t have to’! Whilst I do agree that in an ideal world people should be aware of those around them and offer a seat to those in need, I can’t imagine many would refuse their seat to a breastfeeding/pregnant woman if asked, would they?

To ask for one, not sleep!

I don’t believe it and many of the people publically shames/ thrown off public transport/ kicked out of public spaces for breastfeeding have been found to be lying which makes me doubt all of these stories

Nice bit of publicity for her blog though

I also think that it was a massive coincidence that the six month old was due a feed at exactly the same time as the journey, which only lasted half an hour.

Yeah I think someone should have offered her a seat, but not asking for one but instead taking a selfie and publicising it wasn’t the best way to handle it.

Though I’m not sure it’s untrue or that people in the midlands are any better. I live there and offered my seat to a mother holding an infant when I was 7 months pregnant because no one else did (I actually wasn’t that uncomfortable and was happy to stand, but sort of thought when people noticed my very obvious bump standing up someone else might have offered instead but nope!)

What's the breastfeeding got to do with it? She's holding the baby either way.

That's not really fair, is it? When you're breastfeeding you need to keep the baby not just held but their head in the same place, which is a lot harder.

I did find when pregnant that people were more reluctant to give up their seats on the commuter train than the tube, because they're giving it up for so much longer - the train I was on it was half an hour from where I got on until the next stop, so you're looking at at least that. Someone always stood up when I asked, but I did have to. I also wonder whether people had more of an attitude of 'god, why has she got this train?' since she clearly hadn't been to work. I'm not saying any of that is right, but I can see why people don't exactly leap out of their seats with joy. She really should have asked - it's a bit much to not want to make a fuss in person, but then to plaster it over social media!

I would have asked. I can well believe nobody offered, though. Lots of people are lost in their own world while travelling and just don’t notice, plus a smaller proportion of people are arses who don’t feel they should have to move for anybody ever even if they’re in the priority seats.

No one offered me a seat on a tube in London when I was heavily pregnant. BUT - I then asked and people moved. She expected to be offered a seat. I bet someone would have given her one if she’d actually asked.

Yeah that's a wierd one. At the very least you'd have to sit down on the floor. You'd be wobbling all over the place, it'd be dangerous.

That said, maybe people genuinely had no idea she was breastfeeding as the baby is pretty small and you could hardly tell in the pic. And she could have had a buggy with her. I wouldn't necessarily give my seat to an able bodied woman with a tiny baby inside in a buggy.

She was offered a seat but declined it, then felt silly asking for one when she did need one. More fool her. And if you're confident enough to breastfeed in public, and photograph it, and post it on your public Instagram feed, and you're confident to go to the press about the incident, then you're confident to ask for a seat. Loads of self indulgent, self inflicted bollocks

According to LW this morning she was offered a seat when she first got on but declined it.

If she's breastfeeding and taking selfies then she doesn't need a seat. Multi tasking Drama Queen.

X posts

That's not really fair, is it? When you're breastfeeding you need to keep the baby not just held but their head in the same place, which is a lot harder.

If she was worried about that she would have asked for a seat. Plenty of people walk around and breastfeed small babies. It doesn't have to be a big deal.

So say people didn't move... maybe they felt awkward approaching a woman who was breast feeding? Maybe they just didn't see her. Maybe because she didn't ask they presumed she had a pram to put the baby in?

I think her reaction to take a selfie (one hand on phone, one on baby), put it on social media, and moan nobody moved when she could have just asked, is ridiculous. How this made BBC news I don't know...

She can’t be that concerned for safety if she whips out her phone to take a selfie