How many times have we all been driving between destinations and needed to pull the car over to feed a hungry baby? A woman in the UK has done just that, only to receive a fine from her local council.

Mother of two Antonia Charlesworth was on her way home from Blackpool when her 5-month-old daughter started screaming. She was due to be fed. Ms Charlesworth pulled her car over and began to breastfeed her, not realising she had parked in a taxi rank. When a parking officer approached and started taking photos of her car, she apologised and offered to move, but was slapped with a parking ticket and handed a fine.

Ms Charlesworth said she felt humiliated, “I asked him if he could do the decent thing and allow me to finish feeding my baby or at least allow me to move my car.” Her 2-year-old daughter was also in the car. “Safina was upset and I was still trying to feed Anaya, who was screaming because her feed had been interrupted, all with my breast exposed and in front of passers-by,” she said.

The Blackpool Council has issued an apology, saying it would revoke the ticket. “We are very sorry this unfortunate situation has arisen,” a spokesperson said. The council actually runs a Breastfeeding Welcome scheme which aims to encourage new mothers to feel confident to feed in public. It also says the parking officer did the right thing and was following procedure.

So was Ms Charlesworth in the wrong? Or is this yet another case of how women are criticised for breastfeeding in public?

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2592784/Blackpool-Council-forced-apologise-mother-two-handed-parking-ticket-breastfeeding-car.html