American Airlines has been in the press for multiple reasons. Yesterday (May 12), they opened five new gates. Recently, they have again been in the news for negative reasons. Just two days ago (May 11), they were in the news having to deal with another incident involving a mother and her carry-on, which contained breastfeeding pumps.

As you most likely know, medical devices are allowed as carry-on on American Airlines flights. A woman named Kelsey Myers was degraded and criticized in front of over 50 individuals in line to get on her departure flight from Los Angeles to Chicago.

She had brought her breastfeeding pump, which should have been recognized as a medical device. While standing in line, an employee claimed she had too much luggage and they would have to look at what was in her bags. She was then belittled and humiliated by the employee. Then, the employee’s boss took it even further. Myers reports that the supervisor asked about her luggage and she admitted that she had additional supplies for the pump. According to Myers, the supervisor said: “How many boobs do you have?”

Breastfeeding mother receives an apology

According to People magazine, American Airlines issued a response on the issue and apologized for both employees' actions and released a statement. In this statement, they apologized for their employees' behaviors and assured that they were dealing with the report in a serious manner.

However, this wasn't the first incident having to do with rude employees either. There have been numerous reports such as pet injury and making passengers get off the plane in an inappropriate manner. To keep their business up, they will need to look into all of these claims, including the breastfeeding incident, and decide how to move forward as a company.

It's so sad is that this is developing into an issue for breastfeeding mothers.

They face considerable criticism for breastfeeding in public. On the internet, there are vicious memes and lots of negative opinions on the subject matter on sites like Reddit. Hopefully, in the future, this example of negativism will lessen.

A few things to keep in mind when a mother is nursing her baby

  • Babies need to nurse at least 10-12 times a day (24 hours).
  • Mothers can't always fix a bottle when they are out with their babies.
  • If you do not agree with public breastfeeding, be respectful of the mother and the baby and do not watch.
  • Breasts were made for lactating; animals have them too. Their sole purpose is to nurse the young.
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