Follow the rules, still get your milk dumped?

Note:  The TSA policies about bringing breastmilk on board have recently changed.  See this post for an update.

As I've written about before, the TSA regulations adopted last year for bringing fluids on board airplanes have created quite a packaging challenge for women trying to bring breastmilk home to their babies.

But an article in last week's Orange County Register tells the story of a woman who followed the TSA regulations to the letter and was still forced to dump her milk at the Las Vegas airport.

Popplewell, a marketing director, flew to Las Vegas for a one-day business trip to a footwear trade show. While there, she used her breast pump to collect 6 ounces of milk, which she planned to bring home to her 9-month-old son, Mason.

Popplewell divided the milk into two 3-ounce bottles and placed the bottles in a zip-top plastic bag, as stipulated by security regulations. But when Popplewell, 40, told a screener at McCarran International Airport what was in the bottles, she was forced to throw her milk away.

Airport officials are quoted as apologizing and saying that they're not sure what happened. 

You can still sign an e-petition asking the TSA to revise it's policy so that breastmilk is considered a "life sustaining fluid." This would allow mothers to carry any amount of breastmilk on board whether traveling with a baby or not.

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