Breast Milk on Planes

Well, it only took a few years for the Transportation Security Administration to come to grips with two fundamental truths of our modern world: 1) business travelers include breastfeeding mothers flying without infants and 2) breast milk is not an explosive device commonly used by terrorists.

On Saturday, Aug. 4, the Transportation Security Administration put into effect new rules regarding getting breast milk through airport security checkpoints (with or without an accompanying infant). Mothers flying with, and now without, their children will be permitted to bring breast milk in quantities greater than three ounces as long as they declare it for inspection at the security checkpoint prior to screening.

More evidence of our tax dollars at work, taken from the TSA's Q&A:

Q. Do passengers carrying breast milk need to taste it to prove it is not a liquid explosive?
A. No. We will not ask a traveler to taste breast milk.

Q. Why is breast milk not a threat?
A. Breast milk is a medical necessity and it is being classified as such.

I am generally supportive of TSA efforts, being all for safe airline travel. I think what happened is that no one at TSA stopped to think that average business travelers included working mothers with new babies -- not traveling with them. That's just another example of the assumption that you can't be a good mom (eg, breastfeeding your baby) and a good employee (eg, taking a business trip for your company). Stories from this blog showed otherwise.

The good news is that it is definitely a lot easier now to pump and transport breast milk when flying. One small step for working mothers, one giant step for our government.

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  August 6, 2007; 7:00 AM ET  | Category:  Breastfeeding
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