Would you want your food prepared in an airplane lav?

You must be joking.

She's a mother who needs to pump. Deal with it or fly private jet.

Huh??

Please explain.

Should have moved this post to this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...l-version.html

But alas it was respectfully closed. Perhaps time for a new one.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Whenever I fly, I carry disposable foam ear plugs. Lighter (and cheaper) than noise-canceling headphones.

Have any women commented on this thread?

Just a thought.

Cabin pressure is typically around 25% below sea level pressure. If the source pressure hasn't changed (and it likely won't until she pumps), then the pressure difference between inside and outside has increased by 25% as the plane's altitude has increase. Larger pressure difference will lead to faster flow. I have no experience at all with the details of pumping, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if the change in cabin pressure caused discomfort that led to needing to pump, even if she had done so earlier near sea level.

Inopportune lactation,
Interrupts relaxation,
Produces vexation.
What to do? ... consternation.

Woman here.

Being full is effing painful and if not pumping/feeding on a schedule will affect supply. Getting your supply back up for some women is very difficult.

+1,000,000

That woman probably wanted to pump on that plane much less than you wanted her pumping there.

Personally, I've found that sound helps puts me to sleep. Like white noise...

I bought a small UV flashlight (a.k.a. pee stain detector) from
Amazon when they had it on sale for $4.99(with free 2-day
Prime shipping)

Not to take this thread off-topic, so I discussed my experience here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...l#post24883099

My point is that if I happened to be a woman who want to pump breast
milk, I would absolutely NOT do it inside a lavatory. So the only place
left would be my seat.

Then someone would have been complaining about the inconsiderate woman who hogged the lav on a crowded plane so she could pump.

It was a morning flight. I would never take a daytime flight with any expectation that I'd be able to nap.

Liquids (such as breast milk) in flexible containers (such as breasts) are not compressible (or expandable) at the relatively low atmospheric pressures where we humans live. It's the subatmospheric pressure difference generated by the suckling infant or pump on the teat that causes the milk to be extracted. There is no scientific reason to believe that changes in ambient pressure will affect breast feeding or pumping efficiency or affect the mother's discomfort one way or the other.

as a traveling, pumping mama, i'd like to add my $0.02. besides all that has been mentioned above:
- to pump, you need at least 30min block of time. when traveling, knowing for certain you can stay put for 30 min is sometimes very difficult to plan for. i've had time while traveling that a 45min flight was the only 30-min period i had within a 2-3 hour window (between security, gate changes, boarding, delays, takeoff, landing, waiting for gate, tight connection, etc).
- pumping in lav - i've done it. some FA are very helpful and look out for you. others less so. i've had people banging on the door irate that i was hoggin the lav (esp on a small plane with 1-2 bathrooms). another issue is turbulence and seatbelt signs. as soon as it goes on, some FAs were demanding i stop and return to my seat. once you are hooked up to the pump, you can't just hit "pause".
-i've pumped in seat and i can assure you this was my absolute last choice when i couldn't come up with any other feasible option.
-pumping schedule is pretty tight. early on, you may feed every 2 hours (and that's from start to start, not from end to start), so you have 1 hr max maybe between end of one feeding to start of another. pumping has to stay on same schedule or else you may loose your supply.
-airport is not always easier to pump. most airports don't have private bathrooms/rooms. regular bathrooms usually lack electric outlets or any place to put the pump (it doesn't reach if placed on the floor and you can't keep all parts on your knees as things will fall). gate areas are usually pretty crowded and even more exposed being out in full view of multitudes of people.
i don't know any pumping mother who likes to travel and deal with pumping, but due to lack of maternity leave in the US, for some of us it's the choice between having a job or not.