'Put them away or get off my bus': Driver's order to stunned mother for breastfeeding her son
By Daily Mail Reporter
11th August 2010
An embarrassed mother was ordered off a bus by the driver for breastfeeding her six-week-old son.
Lauren McKenna, 22, says she was told to 'put them away or get off' by the driver as she fed son D'Marion on a Stagecoach service.
Ms McKenna, a nursing student, was left to walk a mile home from Ancoats to Beswick, in Manchester, with her baby but there was more to come.
When she arrived home and called Stagecoach for an explanation, a woman operator told her: 'You shouldn't be doing it should you'.
Breastfeeding in public is legal and actively encouraged in many places because health experts say it protects babies against obesity, allergies, asthma and diabetes.
Stagecoach bosses have launched an investigation into the case of Ms McKenna, who is planning legal action after the public embarrassment.
She said: 'I got on a 216 at Piccadilly Gardens and sat down in my normal seat at the front with my pram.
'I started to feed D'Marion and like normal I lifted up my jumper, pulled my tee shirt down and put a blanket over his head so nobody could see anything.
'I noticed the driver kept looking in his mirror at me and turning around and when we got to Ancoats he stopped and said: "Are you breastfeeding?" When I said yes he said "You can't do that on here".
'He said you can either 'put them away', which didn't make sense because he couldn't see anything, or 'get off the bus'.
'I was fuming so I got off the bus and called Stagecoach to complain but the lady on the other end of the phone said: "Well you shouldn't be doing it on a bus should you?"
'I was stunned and walked home. I'm going to write to them and I'm not going to get on another Stagecoach bus until they apologise.
'They bang on about breastfeeding and nag you to do it all your way through pregnancy like it can stop wars in the Middle East or something.
'I want what's best for my son so I do it, even though not many people my age do.
'I asked the nurses if it was OK to do it in public and they said it was. I even went on the internet because at first I did feel a bit funny about it. It said that you can.
'I've done it in a few places and have even had old ladies coming up to me and saying 'well done love'. But this has just left me fuming.'
A spokesman for Stagecoach said: 'We fully support mothers who wish to breastfeed their babies.
'There are clear health benefits from breastfeeding and we are more than happy for mothers to do so on our bus services.
'We are taking this matter extremely seriously and are carrying out a thorough investigation into this case, including a review of CCTV evidence from our buses.
'Once the full circumstances have been obtained we will carry out a thorough review of our driver's conduct as part of our own internal disciplinary process.
'We are extremely sorry for the way this situation appears to have been handled.
'While this incident is not representative of the service our drivers deliver, we will be taking action to avoid any repeat of this in the future.'
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