Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Upsetting Headline and Flying with Babies

This headline screaming "Breastfeeding Mom Smothers Baby" made me groan out loud. In this age where many (most) people only get their news through 10 second soundbites and sensational headlines on the internet, this is particularly upsetting as it insinuates that breastfeeding might be a dangerous activity.
Breastfeeding a baby on a plane is actually a great way to help keep him settled and equalize his ear pressure (especially on descent). Breastfeeding on a plane poses no greater risk than sitting on your living room couch. I suspect that this poor mother was either a) so tired she drifted off while holding the baby and perhaps shifted position, or b) was forced to cover up with a blanket not designed to be a nursing cover (as some airlines have asked nursing moms to do in the past). Either way, this is tragic to be sure, but breastfeeding should not be maligned as the culprit in this terrible accident.

Got me thinking, though, about my recent flights with Gavin and how airlines and Transport Canada handle infants on planes. On my flight to Toronto, I was travelling without my husband so I purchased a seat for Gavin thinking that a five hour flight is a long to have to hold a not-yet-sitting baby on my lap. Initially I thought I could just lie him down when the seat belt sign wasn't on, and pick him up in the "brace" position when it was...but, no, you actually have to drag your carseat onto the airplane and install it when you purchase a seat for an infant. Actually, this kind of makes sense, and ultimately seems safer to me in case of some sort of accident. BUT, then why can you have your infant/toddler under 2 years sit on your lap while travelling? Yeah, you save the airfare, but in case of an accident the whole holding-the-baby-in-the-brace-position seems about as effective as it would in a car. Maybe they figure that the plane would be going down in a flaming ball of death anyway, so it doesn't matter if they're in a carseat or not. But if that's the case, then why make you bring a carseat on board in the case of a purchased ticket? Hmmm...

So, when we flew to and from Palm Springs recently, it was a shorter flight and Dave was with me for trading off baby-holding duty so Gavin rode on my lap. On the way there, I found it quite tiring having to wrestle with him grabbing at stuff the whole time and thought that it would be much easier to wear him on the flight home in my Babyhawk. So on the flight home, he cozied up in the mei-tai style carrier, it was much easier getting to the gate, he drifted off nicely, and then....the flight attendant came by and told me I couldn't wear him! Apparently having something tied onto me like that could hamper my ability to exit the aircraft in case of an emergency. Buuuut, it's safer to have him flying loose around the cabin?! Or my arms all occupied with holding a baby while I'm trying to secure an oxygen mask?! I was pissed! I took him out, buggered up his nap and had to wrestle a cranky monkey (with a crankier mom) all the way back to Vancouver.

I get that airlines have guidelines they have to follow, but I just don't get the logic of the guidelines. Either you value safety and require everyone to purchase a seat for their infant with an approved car seat installed. Or you let people hold their children under 2 whatever way works best for them since safety in a crash is really not the priority anyway.

Am I dense, or missing something here?

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