Sorry But Not Sorry: United Airlines Flight Attendant Annoys A Mother Nursing Her Child On Board

Making your baby comfortable on flight could sometimes be at the mercy of the airliner you are travelling with. A United Airlines’ flight attendant embarrassed Kristen Hilderman, mother of a five-month-old son, from Burnaby, British Columbia. She was on board a flight from Houston to Vancouver last Sunday with her husband and the story began as she started breastfeeding their five-month old son, to pacify a crying child.

"[The] cabin pressure changed. He started to cry and I thought OK, I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable with my crying baby so I'll start feeding him now and to stop him from crying," the mother said. Then a male flight attendant came to ask her husband whether he was with her, when confirmed, he tossed a blanket at her husband and instructed, "to help her out."

Hilderman was definitely not okay with the comments and attitude of the attendant.

"I went beet red and the passengers around us stared with their mouth agape," she later wrote in a post on Twitter.

"It made me feel like I was doing something wrong. It called into question feeding my son in public. I started thinking should I not be doing this? Should I have a blanket over myself? Are people offended by this?"

In fact when Hilderman tried to question the flight attendant, he walked away.

"I whipped around as the flight attended walked down the aisle behind us and I said, 'Help me out with what?' He ignored me," she said.

The power of social media

Hilderman, who is an assistant editor at BC Business magazine, but on maternity at present, has posted the horrific experience on Twitter. The widely shared post made a United Airlines representative offering her a ‘vague’ apology. "United welcomes nursing mothers on board and we ask that crew members do their best to ensure their comfort and safety as they do with all customers," said in a statement. But Hilderman thinks the apology is not enough.

The hassle of breastfeeding your baby covered up:

- Some babies don’t like it covered, because it makes them feel claustrophobic

- Balancing a blanket or a bed sheet while feeding baby at the same time is not easy, especially for first time mommies

- The baby and mother make an eye contact and that pacifies the baby more

Other not-so-happy- airline stories:

United Airlines Flight Diverted as Passengers Fought Over Anti-Seat Reclining Device

Airline Employee Charged with Theft for Stealing Passenger Luggage after Asiana Airlines Crash

Spirit, Air Canada, Virgin America Among Airlines With ‘Rudest’ Flight Attendants

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