Apology for breastfeeding mum’s bus eviction
A bus company has apologised to the Auckland woman who was kicked off a bus for breastfeeding her 2-month-old.
Ra¯nui resident Jamie Deane was forced to walk to a friend’s house after a driver told her to get off a bus in West Auckland.
NZ Bus, which operated the service, has apologised for the ‘‘distresss’’ caused to the mother and her baby.
The apology came as a women’s advocacy group started a social media campaign #babiescantwait.
Women’s Health Action maternal and child health manager Isis McKay said she was disheartened by Deane’s story.
‘‘In a time where we are trying to encourage and support more women to breastfeed, it is disheartening to hear that these sorts of attitudes are still held in Aotearoa,’’ McKay said.
‘‘It means we need to do more learning and more education.’’
She said the fear of judgment and negative reactions from people could stop mothers feeling like it was OK to breastfeed in public.
‘‘No matter how a woman feeds her child, as a society we should be supporting parents to put the needs of their children first without having to fear public scorn,’’ McKay said.
‘‘If baby needs to be fed, they need to be fed. Babies can’t wait.’’
To support Deane and other mothers, McKay asked people to share their stories of breastfeeding in public online using the hash tag #babiescantwait.
‘‘My hope is that it will help people feel confident to call people out for shaming mothers feeding in public,’’ McKay said.
‘‘I hope it will stop people thinking it’s OK to [shame mothers] themselves.’’
McKay said that although she had not had a negative experience she had felt nervous about breastfeeding in public, particularly with her first child.
‘‘I’ve been really lucky but I am also really prepared for it if some- thing did happen to me.
‘‘I know my rights but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t feel upset or discouraged.’’
Deane was kicked off a bus on December 15 after a passenger complained about her breastfeeding her baby.
When she asked the bus driver why, he said it was because she was breastfeeding.
‘‘He said: you can’t be breastfeeding on a bus. That’s just wrong,’’ Deane said.
A NZ Bus spokesperson said: ‘‘We’ve reminded all our drivers that NZ Bus is supportive of mothers wishing to breastfeed on board our services.’’