Help! I have been charged for Breastfeeding my baby and using the hard shoulder of the motorway to do so?

Question

I am due in court in 5 weeks. I have spoken to a solicitor and I have been told there is not much I can do to prevent this charge going through. I have a 6 week old baby and I stopped on the motorway as she was crying. I am a first time single mum and unfortunately after a while of my baby crying I start producing breast milk automatically. I did plan extra rest stops on out journey and I thought she was ok as I had stopped the previous hour. I tried singing to her, playing some music to her but nothing helped. It got a bit distressing and the services were not far (I recall they were around 10 miles away). I know it is not right to stop on the motorway but it was really stressing me out. I know some babies can get very upset and hold their breath when they are crying. My baby’s face had gone bright red and I guess out of fear for that really I decided to stop even though I know the hard shoulder is meant for an emergency. (Q continues in details…

I stopped and breastfed my baby. This stopped her crying immediately. I am guessing maybe she was dehydrated as we have had warm weather in the U.K recently. Unfortunately whilst all this was going on I did not realize that there was a police patrol car a few cars behind me which decided to stop. In a nutshell the police officer was not impressed that I had stopped so close to the next service station and also that I had taken my top off as my shirt was soaked as I had produced a lot of breast milk when my baby was crying.I have also been told by my solicitor that it is likely that the press will publish the story in the press as they are allowed to sit in on Magistrates courts hearings. I don't want all this for my baby or me. What can I do

Answer 1

I guess the issue is the (potential) indecent exposure, and the illegal use of the hard shoulder, not the actual feeding.

However...if I heard a funny noise with my car I would be alarmed and pull onto the hard shoulder to check it out. If something hit my windscreen I would also pull over. If I was having trouble breathing or couldn't stop sneezing I would do so too. In other words, I would pull over onto a hard shoulder if I felt it was safer than being actually on the road at that point, for the benefit of others and myself. What are hard shoulders for if not for times like that? It's hardly like you were picnicing by the side of the road.

Plus, hard shoulders are loooong - assuming people weren't queuing up to pull into your space on it, there's no real cause for complaint.

I would explain the issue as best as you can, detailing your concerns for your child's health at that point (i.e. you thought she was stopping breathing). I would also be proactive in contacting your local press - if they'll get hold of the story anyway, may as well get in there first and get them on your side, though expect some arsey people writing in to the letters page - they always do.

This is not something you'll go to prison for - at worst it might be a fine or some points, but I strongly hope they decide to do nothing beyond the warning they are probably obligated to deliver.

Good luck - keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Answer 2

What exactly are you being charged with? I doubt very much the charge reads as you have said.

You have certainly committed an offence by stopping on the hard shoulder. Breast feeding itself is not an offence, though the police may consider that getting your breast out could potentially have distracted other road users.

There are only 3 reasons where you can legally stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway. If you breakdown, in an emergency or if directed to do so by the police.

It is extremely doubtful that a crying baby would be accepted as an emergency, particularly as you yourself admit that you were less than 10 minutes away from a service area. You even imply in your question that you knew it was not an emergency.

Stopping where you did put yourself and your child at far more risk than your child was in from continuing to cry until you reached the services 10 miles ahead.

This is why your solicitor has advised that there is not much that you can do. You are guilty of the offence.

If you tried to excuse your behaviour to the police, as you have to us in this question, it is possible that that is why you have been summoned to court, rather than receiving a police caution or fixed penalty.

Your best course of action now is to plead guilty. If this is your first motoring offence you will probably only receive a small fine and may well escape without any deduction of points on your licence.

Ther is not a great deal that you can do about the press. However if you simply plead guilty then there will probably not be much of a story for the press to publish. Even in a local newspaper the headline "mother pleads guilty to stopping on motorway" is not going to sell many papers.

I have included a link which includes useful information about stopping on the motorway.

Answer 3

A very unfortunate case and you have my every sympathy. The fact that you are being prosecuted is that you stopped on the hard shoulder for what the courts will say was a non-emergency situation. Any magistrate will look at this and say why didn't you drive to the next exit and found somewhere private and more convenient to have fed your baby. They will also consider the fact that, even if you had delayed feeding your baby for a few minutes, this was not a life threatening or emergency case. The best you can hope for is a sympathetic female magistrate who has had kids of her own. Whatever the outcome I'm sure you'll think of better places to feed your baby in the future.
Infact, I had the misfortune to have been on a hard shoulder a few months ago when my car broke down. As I attempted to get out of the vehicle I was nearly hit by a 40 tonne lorry being driven by one of our Eastern European colleagues. As you can imagine, I got the hell out of the way and fast. Hard shoulders are simply a place you don't want to be in whatever circumstances.
Best of luck in court and I hope everything goes well for you but please learn from this experience.

Answer 4

WOW!

I admire you for thinking of your babies needs first! The world can be so insensitive sometimes and it makes me mad when I hear that breastfeeding in public is illegal and looked upon as something dirty or even sexual. Breastfeeding is one of the most natural things in the world and nothing anyone should be ashamed of.

Maybe the hard shoulder is for emergencies only, maybe it's not designed for mothers to feed their babies but driving a car in hot weather with a crying infant can be very dangerous as you, the driver, would obviously be focusing on your babies crying and therefore bound to lose your concentration driving so I would say you did have a real emergency to attend to there.

Not trying to be funny here but it sounds like this police officer wasn't breastfed as a baby and isn't very considerate or aware of human needs. I know the law is the law but all laws are made to be broken and I can't see anything wrong with what you did.

About the press. If you think they will be there, maybe instead of worrying about them and being afraid of what they might publish, have you considered that maybe you could use them to your advantage and at the same time help other mothers in the future? Why not contact one of them and see if you can get them on your side? It's amazing how much power the press can have and if you have them on your side, they good raise awareness of this matter and maybe be a good influence on your case.

I wish you all the best in this and keep putting your baby first. I'm sure you are a very good mother.

Answer 5

There is very little you can do. The motorway police are very, very against anyone stopping on the hard shoulder for anything less than an emergency. Trucks and cars regularly hit vehicles parked on the hard shoulder. A few years ago, a number of schoolchildren were killed when the broken down mini-bus they were in was hit on the hard shoulder.

You had no justification for stopping there, and you really do know it. You endangered your child; this is why people in broken down cars sit on the bank and not in their car.

You may get away with this though, and not be fined. Your solicitor is perfectly correct though. The press are going to pick up on this story. They could portray it as badly as Michael Jackson holding his baby out of the window.

I'm sorry I can't offer an other opinion, but it sounds like your solicitor has told you everything you need to know.

Answer 6

Oh no you poor thing most of us know how distressing it can be having a screaming baby on our hands. Listen the court case is going to happen and i doubt much will come of it, you are a new mum who made a mistake so the best you can do is pledge your side of the story and be very sorry. As for the papers it might be a good idea to get them on side first? If its going to be in anyways then you might as well tell them what happened and give your side of the story, it will tug at heartstrings so they will probably write it in your favour. Its an unpleasant time for you now but just keep reminding yourself that this will pass and you wont feel like this for ever. Dont give yourself a hard time, everyone makes mistakes we just all dont get caught making them, chances are a different police officer wouldve let it go so it was just bad luck. The case may not even go to court, just think this time in 6 Weeks itll all be over and forgotten about. Best wishes xx

Answer 7

First: THANK YOU for doing what was in the best interests of your baby. You sound like a good mom.

Second: The shoulder of the road is for emergencies. In my opinion, according to your description, you had one. Your baby was in distress and you were concerned for her safety. If only the police had as much concern, then you wouldn't be in this predicament. Your baby's crying was a distraction to your safe operation of the vehicle. It was imperative that you pulled over when you did. Otherwise, you could have endangered yourselves and other motorists by not fully paying attention to your driving.

Third: Don't focus on the "stress" of the situation. Focus on how insensitive the male officer was and how this stop on the road was justified and how mothers have the right to tend for their infants and protect them. The ONLY thing you're guilty of here is being a caring mother. Call some mother / parent advocacy groups and ask for their support in this. I think you actually should have lots of media attention here. You want to show how insensitive this officer was for giving you a ticket for being a good mom. Get the press and public on your side. Stage a protest in front of the police station where this person works.

YOU WERE DOING RIGHT BY YOUR BABY! Stay focused on that!

I wish you Peace.

Answer 8

You are just going to have to grit your teeth and deal with it. You will be given the opportunity to give your reasons for doing this in court. To be honest, I think you are lucky that you and your child weren't injured while you were on the hard shoulder. Even if you break down you are advised to move onto the embankment while waiting, because there are a huge number of accidents where cars crash into vehicles on the hard shoulder. So maybe the situation could have been a lot worse? I hope it goes ok for you, and all the best with your baby.

Answer 9

The solicitor you have spoken to is correct, I'm afraid.

You are NOT being charged just for breast feeding...that is not illegal ! You are essentially being charged for causing a danger by stopping unnecessarily on the hard shoulder. In truth, you actually placed your baby's life ( and your own) in extreme danger and you should consider yourself fortunate for not being charged for that instead, because the police might consider they had a good case to persue against you for neglect of the child's welfare.

The laws governing stopping on the hard shoulder of a motorway are there for a reason...to save lives. The hard shoulder is the most dangerous place on a motorway.

I understand you were concerned about your baby, but nothing justifies placing her life in danger like that. I really dont think you have ANY justification for that, and in time I think you will agree.

Answer 10

I would assume that the charge arose from misuse of the hard shoulder. In Scotland it is against the law to ask someone to stop breastfeeding in public and the sooner this becomes law in the rest of the U.K. the better. Good luck in court and keep breastfeeding ( maybe in a different location ) as this is definately best for baby and much easier for you.