pumping etiquette - is there an appropriate reply?
 

Background: So I was scheduled to travel from FLL-ATL-BWI this past Tuesday. Proactively switched to MIA-ATL-BWI yesterday (5/27) b/c I would have mis-connected in ATL on the original flight.

so yesterday I'm on DL 1460, MIA-ATL, 7:45A-9:34A. I must admit in all honesty I was cranky from the WX and IRROPS the night before AND having to run and catch this DL #1460 since my later flight that a.m. had also been delayed. Alas, I board flight and am in 12C. It's pretty early and I'm asleep before we even push back from gate. Lady in 13D starts (breast)pumping once we reach 10,000'. I only know she's pumping b/c of the sound the machine makes. I QUICKLY look back and realize what she's doing and turn back around frustrated b/c I can't sleep.

She has the right to pump (I think?) and as a MALE I sure as heck wasn't gonna make a stink but 1) it was early and I was trying to sleep and the machine was kinda loud and 2) I'll admit that I looked QUICKLY but it did not appear she had a child with her so I wonder if she coulda delayed doing so.

I'm just wondering if it woulda been ok to let her know the pumping was annoying? As it turns out, I just stayed quiet and chose not to address the issue. Again, I didn't want to be the "insensitive DUDE" who doesn't value nursing mothers........ thoughts on this delicate issue?

You would think that she could have done it before or after a 650 mile flight. Not like she was stuck on a trans-con.

That's what I was thinking.

How full was the flight? If it wasn't full then you had more options.

You could also ask the FA to offer you alternative solutions. (Worth a shot)

But granted it is a 1 hour flight, I am not sure it would have made any difference.

Yes, because you know the details of her life and what's going on with her body.

You were annoyed by something someone else was doing on a plane? Shocking. Suck it up and deal. You're talking about 90 minutes of discomfort.

The lack of empathy on this board, between threads like this and threads about someone with a medical condition asking if they can encroach on someone's arm rest, or a parent asking people to move to sit with a child, makes me worry for humanity.

The constant theme seems to be that the other person should have prepared better, or not expected people to help them out, or somehow you're all living in a David Mamet movie and everyone is out to scam you. Ayn Rand would be proud.

Hopefully, when the end times come, I'll be no where near you people. It's going to be Lord of the Flies pretty quickly with you.

David

Why didn't you just ask her to plug headphones into it?

shouldn't it be treated like any other personal electronic device... ipad, kid's video game, etc?

Good god people....an hour nap versus discomfort of the passenger? Seriously?

I think it's easy to say she could have pumped before boarding or waited until after landing, and she likely would have preferred that. I don't know of any women who like to pump in public. It's possible she had a connecting flight at ATL, knew she wouldn't have time to pump there, planned to pump at MIA before boarding, but was delayed getting to the airport (or through security). If that was the case, then waiting until she had a chance to pump in a more private place take too long, and possibly even waiting until her next flight would take too long. It is uncomfortable to skip or delay pumping, and can also impact a woman's ability to continue producing milk.

As for the noise - I honestly don't see how it is different than any other noise on a plane. I've been kept awake by people talking, snoring, coughing, laughing... Planes are public places, and the public can be noisy. While it is always nice to catch a nap on a plane, it's never a guarantee, especially not on a such a short flight.

One thought. Noise cancelling headphones. Never leave home without them. Quick cure many things including chatty seatmates, snoring, pumps, crying children, etc.

You've nailed YOUR problem!

Well put - very good post

+1

If you want real piece & quiet, charter a private jet.

As said by mpheels before me, she probably would have preferred to pump somewhere else. The lack of a child would probably explain why she needed to pump. Skipping feedingtime is not only uncomfortable, but could also have a very visual and wet outcome, and I am sure pumping is preferrable to that.

^

This is definitely not a DL specific topic so I am moving this thread to TravelBuzz.

RSSrsvp - Moderator

The cabin pressure might actually help the pumping!!!

But I think it is her feeding time and she is, ... needed like that. It is a morning flight.

Agreed...but, why couldn't she have pumped in the lav? Not enough room...what?

Would you want your food prepared in an airplane lav?

You must be joking.

pumping etiquette - is there an appropriate reply?
 

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

Huh?? :confused:

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. ;)

pumping etiquette - is there an appropriate reply?
 

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.

:D

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... :D

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.

That reminded me of a TATL flight about a year ago. I was in the
upper deck and two women in front of me had heated and loud
argument over which was best for babies.... breast milk or formula
in a bottle. At one point, it appeared that they were about to start
a fist fight over it, until the flight attendant cooled them down.
Wish I took more than just a couple of years of German so I could
understood more about what they were saying.

pumping etiquette - is there an appropriate reply?
 

Get real, man. Stop whining.

These are good points. Thanks for explaining them. Finding a period of 30 uninterrupted minutes while traveling definitely is difficult. I've never been bothered by a woman pumping in public, but now I will be even more understanding.

I have to admit, when I first read the OP's post my thought was how uncomfortable I would be if that had been me. I didn't really consider how it is likely uncomfortable for the woman as well. I appreciate Lerasp explaining what its like from a woman's point of view. Its difficult to have empathy for someone when you have no idea what an experience is like for them, and since this topic is something that's rarely discussed from a woman's point of view we don't often get that opportunity.

While I've never ran into this when flying, I'm sure I'll be more understanding going forward having at least some idea of what its like.

++

Bring headphones and/or ear plugs next time.

don't forget eyeshades. :)


there are wars and other terrible stuff going on around the world and people are worried about seeing ladies pumping their breasts on airplanes? :(

If the lady pulled her boob out in row 5 and showed the guy next to her it would be a huge issue however attach a breast pump on to it and it's ok to pull your boob out.

We had that happen at work. One lady started to use a breast pump at the crowded lunch table without even turning away for privacy. I don't want to see your boobs as I eat my ham and salad roll. Someone else said the same thing so although we had to put up with the noise she turned away so we didn't have to see anything.

I'm sure that pumping on a flight was not that woman's first choice, but it might have been her only choice.
Travelling without her child, early in the morning, her breasts would have been full and uncomfortable. Someone who's experienced that would understand just how uncomfortable it can be. (Been there, experienced that.)

If the flight took place at a time when she would normally have been feeding her child, her breasts could have "let down" and leaked milk onto her clothes - embarrassing and uncomfortable. It's not like controlling your bladder - a woman can't prevent this from happening. (Been there, had it happen.)

While I sympathise with the OP's desire to sleep on that flight, I sympathise even more with the woman.

I should maybe have pointed out in my post that I'm a woman, and a mother of two.
I live in a city where you even at some public coffee shops get a free cake for breastfeeding, but still understand that this is not the case in the rest of the world and some might find it uncomfortable to witness someone pumping if they didn't cover themselves. Again, I'm sure she would have preferred to do it elsewhere (not the lavatory) and I don't see any mentioning of her not trying to cover up, as it was the sound that was the complaint here, not whether he saw or not saw her breast.

I am sorry the OP didn't get any sleep, but there are a hundred other reasons why his sleep could have been interrupted (it's a flight and a public place) so my sympathies also lies with the woman here. And as already mentioned, a lavatory is not a proper place for pumping, as it is not especially hygienic and it would block the access to the lavatory for quite an amount of time.

I am not a women but I do work in the baby product sector and we have worked with a number of breast feeding bloggers and actively promote mums right to Breastfeed.

I know from this and my wife's experience that breastfeeding is not easy, especially to begin with and many women have a perception that is is second nature and get distressed when they find it is not.

Any number of factors can reduce milk flow one of the big ones being irregular feedings (or pumpings), so there is good reason for a mum to need to pump on a plane. A build up of milk can also lead to the painful condition of Mastitis , which 1 in ten breastfeeding mums will get at some point. Mum's are not doing this to annoy anyone, they are simply doing what they feel is best for their baby.

We may not all be a mum but we were all at one time a baby, it would be great it we could have a bit more empathy.

Not every mum can breastfeed and no one should be made to feel guilty for not Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding has some advantages, but formula is not bad.