Amazon has apologised after a company boss was told she could not bring her breastfed baby to a business course held in Fife. Rachael Bews, co-founder of Nu Coton, had informed the company in advance that she would need to breastfeed her five-month-old daughter during the day.
Incident Details
The 33-year-old, from just north of Inverness, said she received a call from Amazon while she was already travelling to the course, telling her that the company could not accommodate her circumstances at the fulfilment centre where the programme was being held. Ms Bews said on LinkedIn: “I assumed they’d be able to accommodate me breastfeeding my baby during the day, with my husband caring for her nearby so I could fully participate. I completely understand the need for strict health and safety rules in an active industrial environment. But the practical outcome is that I can’t take part on the first day because there isn’t a workable way for me to breastfeed my baby during the programme.”
Amazon's Response
An Amazon spokesperson said the company provides paid lactation breaks, flexible scheduling to support lactation needs, and dedicated, private lactation rooms for expressing milk. “However, for health and safety reasons, we are unable to allow children under the age of six on any of our fulfilment centre sites,” the spokesperson said. “We sincerely apologise to Ms Bews that our site access policy was not communicated clearly before she travelled to the event. That should not have happened, and we understand her frustration. We are reviewing our communications process to prevent this from happening again, and have invited her to join us at a future event.”
Impact on Ms Bews
Ms Bews said the plan was for her husband to care for her daughter elsewhere on the Amazon campus while she attended the workshops. She planned to leave to feed her baby when needed, and she said she wasn’t expecting to bring her baby into the fulfilment centre itself. Ms Bews had already spent almost £80 on train tickets and was travelling to the Dunfermline campus when she was told that, due to health and safety requirements, babies and young children could not be brought on site. “I felt really, almost humiliated,” Ms Bews told PA Scotland. “It was something that I honestly hadn’t even considered would be an issue, and the fact that it turned out to be a barrier to my participation made me feel really isolated.”
Call for Inclusivity
She said she has seen other respected peers and colleagues participate in Amazon accelerator programmes, and she said they have benefited from the opportunity. “So the fact that because I have a baby and I wasn’t able to participate within that initial session of the accelerator that’s such a key part of the programme made me feel very isolated and really upset and really disappointed because I’ve been looking forward to it.” Ms Bews told PA Scotland she was grateful for Amazon’s understanding of her frustration, but she said she does not believe that is enough. “I believe that all organisations who are running opportunities like this should ensure they are inclusive for all breastfeeding mothers and all parents,” she said. “A babe in arms should really be permitted on site of events and programmes such as these to enable mothers to continue breastfeeding, so they’re not having to choose between accessing valuable opportunities and feeding their babies.”
