Airport chairs and angry pregnant women

[Champagneponies]

I'm at a major European airport for a changeover. I'm 8 weeks pregnant and have been having constant nausea and some lightheadedness.

Came off my plane a few hours ago and was feeling really really awful and thought I'd faint. Some airport staff showed me through the airport into the gates, were really lovely and put me on some airport chairs and told me to lie across them with my feet up. The staff were so helpful, remained with me for ages and eventually when I kept insisting I was fine, told me to stay there for as long as needed and to make sure I eat etc.

That was about three hours ago. I've had a good nap and I've just woken up to a woman with two children, and she was pulling my legs off the chairs and talking to me in another language. I looked around and there were free chairs across the room and (still kind of in a blur) asked what she was doing. She said she needed the three seats next to me for her and her children. I said I'm really sorry but I'm pregnant and have been feeling unwell, and that I actually haven't been upright for a few hours. I was starting to slowly gather myself and sitting up, honestly the nausea was HORRENDOUS and I constantly feel on the edge of vomiting. And the woman comes out with 'Im pregnant too and need a seat, god not everyone has to be so dramatic about it!'

I wasn't refusing to move btw, I was just awoken in a fog and stirring myself upright while feeling awful.

She looked livid and started huffing, tutting and ranting in another language at me.

Then someone nearby actually intervened and pointed out there were other seats (for three people) just a short distance away, so she walked away still ranting in another language.

So I laid back down and spent the next 10 minutes with her children running back and forth between us and jumping on my seats and shouting. She seemed full of rage that I dare be laid in the seats and didn't immediately jump up when she was literally lifting me out of her way.

I've removed myself, had a cry as I feel awful and full of hormones and am now trying to eat something. But the more I think about it, the more I'm so so angry at her.

I was literally put there and told to lay down by airport staff, and it's quite normal to see people sleeping at the airport. The space wasn't crowded and there were plenty of available seats in the area. I was polite and said sorry and was literally trying to move.

Not sure if I'm flooded with hormones but it feel she's totally unreasonable.

YABU - she's being reasonable and I should have moved quickly

YANBU - she shouldn't have moved my legs and could have given me some grace

Totally unnecessary comment.
Judgemental and prejudiced!

OP was on an 11 hour layover. Hopefully she is now on the last leg of the journey and has a nice warm bed waiting for her.

Challenge sexism in Paris and a lot if the women don't react well. Then there's cultures who don't think women should be fat to the point they'll be openly blunt (which I fit quite funny). Then there's cultures were women are second class citizens and cultures were women are disposable, just as in years gone by here, women aren't taught to police each other. Read previous posts, I'm from immigrant background, none EU, non white, if you are looking for racism, you won't find it here. However I have first hand knowledge of what life is like for women in many African countries and parts of India and how it alters and shapes thinking. I've come across that rage. Or the woman was just exceptionally obnoxious and deserves no excuses made.

She was being a bitch to a compete stranger!! Did you read the bit that there were lots of other chairs the woman with kids could have said??

You need to get out more.

I'd say you do.

I'd have summoned security to deal with someone manhandling me but then I'm petty

Is this really a thing!? I've suffered through migraines at airports before could I have asked for the private nap room?

She should not have touched you to move you, but I can see why she might have thought you were hogging quite a bit of space. She won't have known you were pregnant at 8 weeks.

I think maybe best just to not dwell on it. Things will be hard for her too.

Judgy much? Dane here & very very rarely rude unless people sweepingly ay my entire nation is 😂😂😂😂😂

Sorry but your blokes are much ruder even than Germans

Like absolutely awful

Sweden here, agreeing with our Danes.

It’s so predictable on MN that the phrase ‘cut her/him some slack’ will be used within the first 5 replies on a thread!

Oh dear. Could it be a “you” problem maybe? Seems unlikely that a whole nation of blokes are rude to you?

It does all sound very dramatic

Tbf would not be possible for me to get out even more than I already do. I’m Swedish and Danes are extremely polite and down to earth. It probabably comes down to you missing their sense of humour.

Physically moving you is assault when you are asleep and don’t know what’s going on. That’s horrendous pregnant or not!

This. What on earth is wrong with some of you? I would NEVER move someone's legs off seats, no matter how desperate I was, and there were other seats available.

Basically, that. She was travelling alone with her kids, pregnant! You felt ill. For many people, airport is not fun al all. Dont dwell on it.

You don’t think they have private spaces for people who need medical help/suddenly become unwell in airports?

Over 250,000 people pass through Heathrow on some of the busy travel days. Out of any group of 250,000 people some of them might need medical help across the day but you don’t see people keeling over all across the airport, do you? Where do you think they go?

Does your ‘I’ve never seen it, so it must not exist’ syndrome affect other parts of your life too? Must be challenging!

No. Just not quite as you described. Of course there will be a first aid or medical type room. But not some tranquil quiet room which sounds really rather lovely.
And both OP and the staff deemed that she didn't need medical attention, just somewhere to lie down and hopefully sleep off the early pregnancy plus flight nausea.

Pulling at your legs, wtf. She sounds mental, especially if there were seats she could use. If there weren’t gently waking you would have been ok. Don’t give her another thought. Feel better soon!

If you were feeling nauseous you should have vomited on her!

So you had your shoes up on the seats where other people have to sit? Thats so skanky.

People are allowed to talk in ‘another language’ particularly in an airport.

It sounds like you needed much more medical attention than lying on some seats.