California native Emily Calandrelli, a mother of a 10-week-old baby, said she felt ashamed and humiliated after she gave two male security agents at the Los Angeles International Airport a heads-up that she will take two ice packs with her to the flight for her breast milk.
Calandrelli told the Business Insider that she wanted to pump breast milk between going through airport security and boarding her long five-hour flight. The ice packs that she wanted to bring to the flight would help keep the breast milk cold on her Monday trip from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, until she could store it in a hotel freezer.
Calandrelli was shocked, however, when she got to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint, as the two agents suddenly told her that she could not bring the ice packs on the flight because one of them was not frozen solid.
Calandrelli argues that feeding a child is medically necessary
According to screening guidelines of the TSA, "frozen liquid items" are permitted aboard an aircraft if they are "frozen solid" when going through the check. Gel ice packs are permitted on a plane in any form if they are "medically necessary."
Calandrelli believes her request is well within the guidelines of the TSA, saying "I think we could argue that pumping and feeding our child and doing this even when our child is not with us is absolutely medically necessary."
When she had her first child, Calandrelli, who frequently travels for her job as a host of a television show, used to run into the same problem. According to Calandrelli, TSA agents would give her trouble about the ice packs in her luggage but they normally "would let it go" and let her on the plane with them.
Breastfeeding women who skip pumping sessions at risk for infection
That all changed last Monday, May 9, when the TSA barred her from bringing the ice packs on the aircraft. Calandrelli posted the incident in a Twitter thread, writing that two male TSA agents told her that she would not be able to bring them through.
Calandrelli then asked to talk with a female TSA agent instead of the two men, hoping that she would be able to connect with a mother who had breastfed before. A male supervisor walked over to Calandrelli, telling her to check her luggage and store the ice packs in it throughout the flight. Calandrelli said that she and the supervisor argued as other TSA agents and travelers looked on.
According to an NPR report, a breastfeeding woman who skips pumping sessions is at risk for severe pain and infection. Breasts that are filled with milk harden and become engorged, which can possibly result in a bacterial infection called mastitis. Mastitis cases in some instances lead to hospitalization and even intravenous antibiotic treatment.
