The Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening (BABES) Act was signed into law in 2016, making it easier for moms traveling with breast milk and related accessories to get through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints at airports.
Sadly, that has not been the case as, according to some reports, TSA agents still force some parents to ditch cold packs and dump breast milk before they can board their flights. This poor treatment keeps on occurring six years after the bill's passage despite TSA rules that indicate these aforementioned items are permitted on planes, according to Forbes.
The issue grabbed the headlines in May when Emily Calandrelli, host of Netflix's "Emily's Wonder Lab," had her own challenging encounter with TSA agents regarding the accessories she brought to the airport. She has been working with the U.S. Congress to address this thorny issue that disproportionately impacts new moms.
Calandrelli inspires new breastfeeding bill
There is good news on that front, as a new legislation has been introduced to update the 2016 BABES Act. The bill is aimed at ensuring that formula, accessories, and breast milk are allowed on planes and treated hygienically, according to ABC News.
Work on the current bill started after Calandrelli posted her run-in with TSA on Twitter with her rant going viral. When she took a business trip from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. last May, it was the first time the new mom was away from her 10-week-old son.
Knowing the importance of expressing breast milk every four to six hours, Calandrelli was planning to pump just before takeoff of her five-hour flight. She said that if she doesn't pump regularly, her breasts can get uncomfortable and feel engorged.
Calandrelli has testy exchange with TSA supervisor
She explained that she can get clogged ducts and that failure to express milk regularly can lead to her having a breast infection called mastitis. The Netflix star was generally short on breast milk supply. She needed to save the milk after pumping to replenish what would be consumed by her young child while she was gone from home. She brought a frozen gel pack to the airport to keep the breast milk cold during the long flight.
Calandrelli encountered a problem as the frozen pack became soft as she was traveling to the airport from her home, according to Motherly. The TSA agents told her that because the pack was not fully frozen, she could not carry it on the plane and needed to check it or leave it behind.
She asked to talk to a supervisor after that exchange, but that did not help. According to Calandrelli, the supervisor asked her where her kid was, and she said at home as she was traveling for work. The supervisor then told her that this would not be an issue if she had the baby with her.
Ultimately, the TSA told her that she could not bring the ice packs on the plane, meaning she would not be able to pump milk before the flight and save it as planned.
