Amazon turns away breastfeeding boss over warehouse safety rule
Amazon's exclusion of a nursing mother from a business course highlights the friction between industrial safety policies and corporate inclusivity efforts.
Amazon has apologised after a breastfeeding business owner was turned away from a corporate training event at its Scottish warehouse due to a strict health and safety policy.
Rachael Bews was denied entry to the Dunfermline fulfilment centre despite informing the online retailer a week in advance that she would bring her 20-week-old baby. She only learned of the ban on children under six while travelling to the event on a train.
For large corporations operating industrial sites, the incident demonstrates the reputational risk of applying rigid access policies without flexibility for nursing parents. It also undermines the intended benefits of corporate programmes designed to support small businesses and entrepreneurship.
Amazon attributed the situation to a communication failure. "We sincerely apologise to Ms Bews that our site access policy was not communicated clearly before she travelled," the company said.
The retailer noted that prohibiting children under six from fulfilment centres is a long-standing health and safety rule for all visitors and employees. Amazon stated it is reviewing its communications process to prevent a recurrence.
For Bews, the logistical barriers posed a direct professional cost. While the warehouse featured a lactation room, she lacked the sterilised bottles and equipment needed to express milk.
She also noted that not every breastfed infant will accept a bottle, making separation impractical. "It's a challenging thing becoming a new mum, and being in business is a big part of my identity," she said.
Being restricted to the online portion of the six-week course meant losing the most valuable elements of the programme. "The in-person, face-to-face connections you make over coffee, the people you meet over lunch — there's connections I could have made to maybe help my business," Bews said.
Excluding working mothers from networking opportunities directly impacts their commercial prospects. "All events should really have good consideration to accessibility and inclusivity for all sorts of considerations," Bews added, pointing to a gap in how companies accommodate parents.
Health authorities emphasise that continuing to breastfeed while returning to work or education is entirely feasible with proper employer support. The NHS advises employees to inform their employers of their breastfeeding needs before their first day back.
