Mum slams Heathrow Airport for no apology over breastfeeding fail

British mother used the baby-changing room to pump milk but was interrupted by a male attendant and then further lectured. Photo / Getty

A breastfeeding mother who complained after a male toilet attendant unlocked a baby-changing room she was using at Heathrow Airport from the outside has revealed her anger at the "non-apology" she says she received.

British mother Sophie McBain, who lives in New York, has seen her story go viral after she says she was left feeling "embarrassed and exposed" by the incident - and further frustrated by an "excuse-laden" email from the airport's customer service team.

McBain said the response spurred her on to tweet about it, in the hope that it will highlight the work that still needs to be done to help nursing mothers in public buildings, reports Daily Mail.

The mother explained to her followers that she had decided to pump some milk at the London airport ahead of a long flight.

After being advised to use the baby-changing facilities within the airport terminal, she began pumping but claims she experienced an awkward exchange when a male attendant knocked on the door but didn't hear her respond.

He then asked a "staff member" to unlock the door and walked in on her, telling her she should have either left the door unlocked or pumped within the public areas of the terminal.

McBain says insult to injury was added after she wrote a letter to the airport's customer service department complaining about the incident.

The response, which was badly composed, said: "While it was uncomfortable it was not entirely his fault for entering after warning."

It continued: "With that said, every passenger should be treated with courtesy and respect, meaning we expect our staff to be professional, helpful and polite at all times."

Speaking to MailOnline, McBain said: "The hundreds of breastfeeding mothers who use Heathrow daily deserve a clean, private room in which to pump or nurse without being disturbed, and a toilet or a baby changing room doesn't cut it.

"Just as no one would be spoken to while sitting on the toilet, it's respectful to wait until a woman's breasts are covered before telling her where to pump.

"But the bigger issue is that when I raised my problems with Heathrow their response showed no willingness to address my specific concerns for breastfeeding women."

The mother, who says she hadn't planned to tweet about the experience but changed her mind after reading Heathrow's response also told The Huffington Post: "From my perspective what's really important is that this isn't about one male attendant's awkward reaction - he was probably expecting an empty cubicle and we sometimes say weird things when caught off guard."

Many on Twitter shared their frustration over the experience. @EmmaElinor tweeted: "I'm so sorry and angry to hear what happen and to read the reply. It's so infuriating that so many spaces aren't fitted for the needs of people with small children, whether parents are travelling with them or not. Tiny changes can make an enormous difference."

@O_edipus added: "It's quite telling that an official response from one of the first public bodies one comes comes into contact on entering the UK contains spelling mistakes such as 'would of'."

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport told MailOnline: "The response Ms. McBain received following her complaint did not reflect the level of customer service we expect.

"We apologise the initial response was handled in the manner it was and regret the experience she had at our airport.

"Following this incident, airport and customer service colleagues will be spoken to about service delivery and how it needs to be tailored to individual customer needs."