Airport security ‘force new mum to squeeze her breast to prove she is lactating’ after stopping her for travelling with breast pump but not her baby
A NEW mum who says she was forced to squeeze her breast at airport security to prove she was lactating has filed a complaint against German police.
Breastfeeding mum-of-two Gayathiri Bose says she was “humiliated” by the incident, and is looking to explore formal legal action.
German police have denied the new mum was asked to prove she has the ability to breastfeed, and said such a request is “clearly” not part of routine procedure.
Ms Bose, who was travelling alone, said she was taken aside for questioning after her carry-on luggage was screened.
'[The border security officer] asked me to open up my blouse and show her my breast'
New mum Gayathiri Bose
She said: "[They had] an incredulous tone. 'You are breastfeeding? Then where is your baby? Your baby is in Singapore?'”
The furious mum claims the officers did not believe her when she told them the device in her bag was in fact a breast pump, and proceeded to take her to a separate room for further questioning.
It was here the police officer, a woman, asked the new mum to prove she was breastfeeding, Ms Bose said.
She said: "She asked me to open up my blouse and show her my breast.
"She then asked how come I didn't have anything attached to my breast, if I was lactating and expressing breastmilk.
"She wanted me to show her by hand-expressing a little."
The 33-year-old mum described the incident as “traumatising”, and said she went along with orders because she was “in shock”.
Ms Bose said her breast pump and passport were returned to her shortly after the incident, and she was allowed to board her flight.
Christian Altenhofen, a spokesman for the German federal police unit at Frankfurt Airport, told the BBC he couldn’t comment on the incident "for reasons of data protection".
He went on: "If a suspected explosive is detected at an air safety control point, the baggage and the person must be searched.
"The measures you have described for a breastfeeding mother are clearly not included.”
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