Stop airlines charging women extra for travelling with expressed milk

[SantasBigHelper]

Please sign and share if you agree:

www.change.org/p/justine-greening-mp-allow-women-to-fly-with-expressed-breastmilk-free-of-charge

ChocChoc link says you can take empty bottles though, not that you can't.

Don't dump the whole petition. Can you edit it? Clarify the rules and who has made them, and clarify why you are petitioning.

sorry - sp. phoenix!

Oh god. I'm all flustered and read it wrong. Well I can't find a link re. empty bottles in the UK, though I know I've had them confiscated numerous times.

Chocchoc - I mean what you propose sounds great!! It's just not an option in my field. Clients offer to book me. I can choose whether or not to take the job based on location, duration and potential earnings. I need to take some bookings as I need some wages. I've cut back drastically on what I say yes to.

I can't ask clients to move the location to nearer my baby, and I can't bring the baby with me. Permanent contracts are a thing of the past.

Speakno - do you have any advice on how to clarify?

When I started reading it I thought you incorrectly thought that women had to pay to take ebm in hand luggage. I realised that you meant the much more specific situation where a woman is travelling without her baby, but still wants to transport ebm, I think mostly you mean on the return journey. The key bit is about travelling without your baby, which means that the normal hand luggage liquid rules apply. I'd just make it clearer that's what you mean, and try and make it shorter and more concise.

OK, thanks SpeakNo I'll have a think. I'm a bit down on the whole thing right now.

Here is the link regarding not being allowed empty containers through security in the UK:

www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/overview

Liquids in containers larger than 100ml generally can’t go through security even if the container is only part full. There are some exemptions.

Presumably this is the regulation security have referred to when removing empty bottle of more than 100ml from me.

No, that's about part full bottles. There is no rule about empty bottles.

No, that's about part full bottles. There is no rule about empty bottles.

This seems a bit of a non-issue to me. How many mothers of breast-fed babies are travelling without their children while still breastfeeding? Then, of that number, how many are away for a sufficient length of time that they need to bring the expressed milk back with them rather than expressing and disposing of the milk? Your petition seems to suggest that babies need 1 litre a day but that expressing may take five days to produce that amount, so you could be away for up to four days (approx) and still be able to bring back, say, 6 100ml bottles of milk with you without problem? So the issue then only applies to breastfeeding mothers who are travelling without children for 3 or more days? And of that number it really only affects those who are going to be travelling frequently enough during that breastfeeding period that they won't have time to express enough on their return home to get them through the next business trip? So we're surely down to a very small number then?

Or am I missing something really obvious?

I know you said you don't have a choice about these trips but it seems that this one of the many compromises that you are going to have make as a parent - if you are travelling internationally frequently and for more than an overnight trip, then you may have to accept doing some mixed feeding with your baby?

I can only speak personally. I have had empty water bottles removed on more than one occasion.

I was under the impression that larger containers were restricted in the UK as its possible to mix lots of smaller volumes of liquids in a large bottle, but my bomb making knowledge is a little rusty.

I am also reluctant test the UK restrictions using expensive expressing bottles.

I've taken the bit about empty bottles out of the petition though , it seems to have rather distracted from the point.

Empty or with some liquid in? Any bottle over 100ml containing liquid can't go through security. Empty bottles can. However people often choose to bin them there. I typically drink what I want, dump the bottle and get a cold fresh one on the other side.

I travel for work and had a non latching baby so expressed. I never wanted to bring expressed milk home though as I didn't want to feed my baby milk that hadn't been kept consistently fridge cold and I couldn't ensure that. So I pumped and dumped to maintain my supply. I just don't see the need for what you are proposing. However I sympathise - travelling for work leaving behind a young baby is bloody hard.

I find it a little depressing that here on the feminist board two posters have taken the opportunity to remind me that I have to make 'compromises' and 'accommodations' now that I am a parent.

I'm not trying to launch an international jetset career here. Just trying to make ends meet and continue to breastfeed.

Euro - empty or so I thought? Or maybe they must have had a mouthful in them and I've misunderstood why they were being taken from me.

Stillunexpected:

I'm working away from home for two days this weekend. This will use up the supply of expressed in the house.

I'm then working in the same that city we live in just over half a day on the following Fri, Sat, Sun. I need the milk I'll express whilst I'm away this weekend to cover the following weekend.

All people with child dependants make compromises. From when your eldest child starts school until your youngest finishes, families have to take holidays outside of term time. Compromises are a fact of life, parents have to make a lot of them.

I was under the impression parents also had to pay the mortgage and buy food and stuff.

I'm not sure where taking holidays out of term time has come into this...

I think that some people aren't aware of the basic principle behind whether something is sexist/breaking sex discrimination or not.

If a man with a young child is able to travel without incurring extra costs, so should a woman be. By saying 'we're charging for the bottles, not the woman' it's disingenuous. Women who breastfeed and travel away from their child need to be able to express. There are many reasons why they may not want/be able to simply ditch it and then feed the baby once they get home. Forcing an extra charge on them because they lactate is charging them for being a female with breasts. That therefore puts it into the sex discrimination bracket.

Work places have to provide a safe place for expressed milk to be stored so that it isn't thrown away, and cannot charge the woman for doing so. Why are airlines different?

I find it a little depressing that here on the feminist board two posters have taken the opportunity to remind me that I have to make 'compromises' and 'accommodations' now that I am a parent.

Sorry but just because it is a feminist board it doesn't mean posters have to agree with you.

Being a parent means you do have to compromise sometimes whether you like it or not

Thanks KickAss, that were the lines I was thinking along when posting on this board.

Piglet - I'm not saying anyone has to agree with me, but I'm not sure what compromises I'm meant to make? Stop earning entirely? Stop feeding the baby?

Airlines are not different, they have to provide fridges for lactating hostesses, female pilots and ground staff.

So why not for passengers?

Why is it OK to make one pat of the population pay for something which is entirely due to their physical condition? People with wheelchairs don't get charged extra for using them, people of different religions aren't charged for the prayer/meditation rooms provided. Why is this one requirement, caused 100% from being female, able to circumvent discrimination law when other requirements aren't?

It just doesn't follow the logic or the intention of anti-discrimination legislation. That's nothing to do with if someone a feminist or not, it's a loophole in the law.

Well if they provide it for staff Pestilence, could they not also provide for passengers?

I rather feel I've been ripped to pieces a bit unfairly on this thread when I was only trying to highlight something I saw as an inequality:

Men with young babies don't have to pay extra for hold baggage whereas breastfeeding women with babies the same age do.

I'm off out for a run in a massively supportive sports bra to lick my wounds.

Will also make sure to my Civil Aviation Authority knowledge is bulletproof next time.

People with FF babies are advised to take their usual brand with them. They have to put this in the hold. You could put your expressed milk in the hold. The winner is the BFing mother who is travelling with her baby. If she can manage to get all the gubbins in hand luggage.