Rachael Bews, the head of a marketing firm, was told over the phone while on the train to an Amazon business course in Dunfermline that she could not bring her 20-week-old baby onto the site. She had informed the online retailer a week earlier that she needed to take her child because she was breastfeeding.
Amazon’s policy does not permit children under the age of six on any of its fulfilment centre sites — a long-standing health and safety rule that applies to all visitors and employees. The retailer apologised, saying the policy was not communicated clearly before she travelled. “That should not have happened, and we understand her frustration,” Amazon said, adding it is reviewing its communications process to prevent a repeat.
“Breastfeeding boss Rachael Bews barred from Amazon business course when told on the train she couldn't bring her baby.”
Bews told BBC’s The World Tonight that there was a lactation room at the event on Friday, which would have allowed her to express milk — but she had not planned for that and did not have sterilised bottles or equipment. “Not every breastfed baby would feed from a bottle,” she said.
She was offered the chance to continue with the online part of the six-week course, but said she had missed out on “the most important things”: face-to-face connections over coffee and lunch that could have helped her business. “All events should really have good consideration to accessibility and inclusivity for all sorts of considerations,” Bews added. “It’s a challenging thing becoming a new mum, and being in business is a big part of my identity.”