Traveling just got easier for breastfeeding and pumping moms traveling through the San Diego International Airport! Just in time for the holidays, right?
Last month, the San Diego Nursing in Public Task Force was contacted by a local breastfeeding mom, Emily Mest, who frequently travels through the San Diego International Airport for work. Here is Emily’s story, which set the wheels in motion to make breastfeeding and pumping easier for all moms traveling through the San Diego airport.
Well, our 30 days are up for our Kickstarter project and, unfortunately, our Nursing in Public Task Force website project didn't receive the funding that we had hoped for. We reached about 10% of the funding we needed and I am so incredibly appreciative of the support we received from our generous donors!
While I am sad that the Nursing in Public Task Force website project will have to be put on hold for now, I am not too discouraged to let it go completely. Over the next few months, I will be updating the resources on our local Nursing In Public Task Force webpage, speaking at the Annual California Breastfeeding Summit about our project, and hopefully finding other funding sources to pay for this valuable online resource. So, if you happen to have any ideas for other funding sources (or an amazing benefactor who'd like to pay for the website!), please email me so we can explore these options :-)
If you would like to stay current on this project, please sign up for our newsletter, as we will be updating our website with new information and resources for nursing in public.
Thanks, again! This has been an enlightening learning experience for me and I hope to have a huge announcement in the next few months that we have secured funding for this valuable and needed website!
Warmly,
Robin
We are so excited to announce that we have launched our first Kickstarter campaign today! It is called the Nursing in Public Task Force Website.
As you know, the ladies at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center are fierce advocates for protecting a woman's right to breastfeed in public. This is exactly why we created the San Diego Nursing in Public Task Force in 2013. Too many local moms had been discriminated against and shamed for breastfeeding their babies outside of their homes and we just couldn’t stand by silently anymore!
A few weeks ago, the San Diego Nursing in Public Task Force was contacted by Theresa Morawski Pulickal about an incident she needed help resolving with America Airlines. Theresa has already done an amazing job advocating for herself and almost completely resolved the situation she had with the airlines, but she needs your help to change American Airline's policy regarding transporting breast milk. She doesn’t want another mother to have to deal with the challenges she dealt with a few weeks ago.
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I am trying to change an American Airlines policy after an experience I had traveling from Puerto Vallarta to Phoenix to San Diego a few weeks ago. While in Puerto Vallarta, I pumped breast milk for my child home in San Diego. He was not traveling with me. At the Puerto Vallarta airport I was told by the TSA agents that I could not carry my breast milk on the plane. I tried to tell them that the rules in the US state that it's okay to carry pumped milk onboard the plane and it could be tested, but they gave me a firm ‘NO’. I took my breast milk coolers to America Airlines (AA). I told them I was told to check my breast milk by the TSA agents. The American Airlines ticket agent generated a check bag tag and said it would cost $499MXN pesos. I asked if the could be waived, as it is breast milk. I told them I was not expecting a fee. They said, no, because the baby was not with me and that it was company policy to charge a fee and that he (the AA Agent) didn't agree with it either, but had to charge me. I paid the fee, as it was very important to me to bring home my milk. I checked the bag to Phoenix. In Phoenix, I spoke to the AA customer service representative. The agent told me that they should not have charged me for the bag in Puerto Vallarta, but he was unable to reimburse at his location. He told me there is no one to call and I would have to make a claim online through the comment/compliant website. I picked up my bag and went through TSA in Phoenix to San Diego with no problem. They looked at my milk and tested the cooler bag. I was allowed to carry on.
Last month I shared a story about how a breastfeeding mother had been involved in a nursing in public harassment incident at a local LA Fitness. During this incident, Monique Golueke was told that her only option for breastfeeding in the Oceanside LA Fitness facility was in the Kids Klub restroom. After some media coverage, a nurse-in, and several cordial email exchanges between the San Diego Nursing in Public Task Force and Jill Greuling (Vice President of Operations for LA Fitness), I am elated to report that we have come to an incredibly positive resolution!
Today, I received an email from Ms. Greuling, stating that the following memo will pop up for every LA Fitness employee in California when they log on June 5th, requiring an acknowledgement that they read and understand the information contained in the memo:
"According to California Civil Code, section 43.3, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, except the private home or residence of another, where the mother and the child are otherwise authorized to be present.” To accommodate breastfeeding women in LA Fitness facilities, staff members may recommend reasonable places for her to do so, such as the foyer, the sales area or in the Kids Klub. It is not reasonable to tell a woman that the only place she can breastfeed her baby is in the Kids Klub restroom."
The San Diego Nursing in Public Task Force would like to commend Monique Golueke and Ms. Greuling for having the initiative to take tangible, practical actions that will prevent any incidences like this from happening in the future. We are thrilled we were able to collaborate with her to bring forth such a positive resolution.
It happened again in San Diego! How is this possible? Another nursing in public incident that clearly violated California state law! An incident where a mother felt violated and shamed for nursing her baby in a public place. Another reason that reinforces the need for our San Diego Nursing in Public Task Force.
"It had been over a year since I had been to the gym and after what happened today, it's not likely I'll be returning, at least not to LA Fitness. I was so excited to attend a step class alongside one of my best gals.
On April 22, 2014, I reinstated my membership, paid the fees, and signed my boys up for the unlimited Kids Klub pass. Forty-five minutes into our class, I was notified that the boys had been crying and they weren't able to settle down. I swooped them up and took them directly to the ladies’ restroom/locker room where I washed both of their little hands. My 9-month old still seemed upset so I decided to nurse him while my toddler sat next to me and played with my phone. About five minutes later, I was approached by an LA Fitness employee. She told me that we needed to leave and that children were not allowed in the locker room.
Recently San Diego, California (aka America’s Finest City) has been hit with some pretty obnoxious breastfeeding-in-public harassment situations. While I assumed that most Californians knew that breastfeeding in public was legal in our wonderful state, apparently, most people don’t. Even my husband, who is an attorney and married to a lactation consultant, was unaware that there was actually a California law that protected a woman’s right to nurse in public.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE????
First and foremost, it is shocking to me that we actually need a law to protect a woman’s right to feed her baby in public, but yet, I must remind myself that most people think breasts are for fun rather than functionality.
Secondly, why don’t most people know that this law exists?
Third, how is it possible that EVEN WITH a law stating a woman can breastfeeding in public, mothers are STILL being harassed for doing so?
What does the California law actually say?
