As the summer travel season approaches, new parents must navigate airports with their babies — and deal with the complexities of feeding them. Although there are federal guidelines for airport employees governing how to deal with breastfeeding mothers, stories of problematic encounters with security staff sometimes go viral.
In 2023 actress and singer Keke Palmer said she was at the Houston airport when she was threatened to throw away her 16 ounces of breast milk. A year earlier, engineer and science presenter Emily Calandrelli said U.S. Transportation Security Administration officers escorted her out of line and forced her to check her partially thawed ice packs, which are used to chill breast milk.
“It was a very traumatic experience and it also did not comply with TSA guidelines that say you can have them for medically necessary purposes,” Calandrelli told States Newsroom.
In May 2022, she took her first business trip without her 10-week-old baby, traveling from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. Calandrelli planned to pump after going through security at LAX, but TSA officers peppered her with questions about the purpose of the ice packs and said it wouldn’t have been a problem if she had already pumped her breast milk.
“I spoke to three different men who work at TSA, and I asked to speak to a woman, but it was not possible,” she said.
Like Palmer, she shared the experience with her legions of social media followers. Calandrelli said the agency later apologized. The TSA issued a opinion shortly after the incident: “Our staff are regularly trained to effectively approach and screen a wide variety of travelers, including those who are breastfeeding and/or traveling with breast milk.”
Both women’s experiences violate TSA guidelines: Infant formula, breast milk, toddler beverages, and baby food are permitted on airplanes and in carry-on baggage in quantities greater than 3.4 ounces. Breast milk, infant formula, and ice packs — as well as other cooling supplies — are considered medically necessary. Passengers are advised to inform TSA officers upon arrival at airport security that they are carrying these items.
Despite these protective measures, many breastfeeding parents still experience problems with air travel, which can cause physical and emotional side effects, said Tina Sherman, doula and interim executive director of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee.
“Breastfeeding parents need to pump relatively regularly to maintain their milk supply,” Sherman said.
When they cannot pump milk or this cycle is interrupted, mothers suffer pain or milk leakage, she said. In some cases, long delays in pumping can lead to mastitis – an infection that causes swelling in the breasts and cracked nipples. Emotionally, being prevented or delayed from pumping milk can cause anxiety, embarrassment and stress in parents, Sherman said.
Calandrelli’s plight prompted her to contact her local congresswoman in California two years ago. Democratic U.S. Representative Katie Porter first introduced a bill to Strengthening existing protection for breastfeeding mothers in August 2022.
“You need clear instructions and clear rules and you need to make sure people follow them so that mothers can meet the standards,” Porter said. “There are a lot of barriers to breastfeeding. There are a lot of challenges in feeding a baby and traveling with a baby.”
Screening of bottles and breastfeeding accessories (BABIES) Enhancement Act would require TSA officers and private security firms to “hygienically handle breast milk and baby formula.” Porter’s bill would direct airport officials to “minimize the risk of contamination” of breast milk, baby formula and infant beverages, as well as ice or freezer bags and related refrigeration accessories.
Under the proposal, the agency would need to consult with maternal health organizations – the March of Dimes, Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine – to determine what policies and regulations need to be adjusted as pumping technology and best practices for storing breast milk evolve, she said.
BABES Act is an update of a Law of 2016 which required TSA training on special screening procedures for nursing parents. The original law also allowed enormous quantities of breast milk, infant formula, and infant beverages – juice or purified water – to be carried into airports and on airplanes.
Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican from Florida, and Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, are the leading Co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Republican Senators Steve Daines of Montana and Ted Cruz of Texas Sponsored the bill in the House of Lords.
The bipartisan bill did not progress in the last sessionbut Porter reintroduced the proposal. She said the bill will soon be considered in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
As a mother of three, Porter is familiar with the problems that come with traveling with newborn children. Her children are now teenagers, but when they were babies, there were no breastfeeding stations in airports. She said a flight attendant once told her to stop breastfeeding her baby while the plane was still on the ground. Porter said she was furious and scared, but mostly “they were worried about my baby who was hungry.”
As for her bill, she acknowledges that TSA agents have a tough job, but the BABES Act will assist them “have clear rules and better training so they don’t get into difficult situations when they’re dealing with frustrated parents,” she said.
Advocates say making travel easier for breastfeeding parents could reduce the stigma surrounding breastfeeding. More than 80% of babies are breastfed in infancyand 58% are still getting some breast milk at 6 months of age, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nevertheless, earlier this month, an ad for breastfeeding cookies featuring a celebrity chef’s covered breasts and pregnant belly was temporarily removed from a billboard in Times Square, according to The New York Times.
“Normalizing breastfeeding and lactation is critical for families to achieve their breastfeeding goals,” Sherman said.
