Amazon Business Programme Denies Breastfeeding Mother Entry Due to Baby Policy

A Scottish business owner has said she was left "devastated" after being unable to attend an Amazon business programme because she was told she could not bring her breastfeeding baby onto the company's fulfilment centre site.

Rachael Bews, founder and chief executive of marketing agency Nu Coton, had secured a place on Amazon's Innovation Accelerator, a programme designed to support small and medium sized businesses across the UK.

Bews, who is breastfeeding her 20 week old daughter Sophia, said she had informed organisers about her situation well in advance. The plan was for her husband to accompany their daughter while she attended the sessions, stepping out only when she needed to feed her baby.

However, while travelling from the Scottish Highlands to Amazon's fulfilment centre in Dunfermline, she was told the arrangement would not be allowed because children under six are not permitted on the site.

"I'd been really looking forward to it and had put a lot of things in place to be able to attend," Bews told The Times. "To have it taken away from me because, in their words, it wasn't within health and safety to bring a baby on site while I needed to be breastfeeding, it made me feel really devastated, really upset. As if having a baby meant the same opportunities weren't open to me."

She added, "It felt very difficult to accept that there was nowhere in that enormous campus that could safely allow me to feed our baby, so that I could attend."

'The networking was a big reason I signed up'

Amazon's Innovation Accelerator is largely conducted online, but participants also spend a day at one of the company's fulfilment centres to learn about its technology and automation before attending workshops. Bews said she had no intention of taking her daughter into the warehouse or industrial areas and was looking forward to the networking opportunities that came with the in person event.

"I find in these settings that some of the best value you get is the conversation you're having over coffee or the people that you meet over lunch," she said. "Not being able to participate in that bit for me was especially difficult."

The entrepreneur had earned a place on the programme through Be The Business, a non profit organisation that supports small businesses through mentoring and leadership initiatives.

Amazon apologises

Responding to the incident, Amazon apologised for not communicating its site access policy clearly before the visit. An Amazon spokesperson said, "Amazon does not permit children under the age of six on any of our fulfilment centre sites. This is a longstanding health and safety policy that applies to all visitors and employees."

"We recognise that this policy, combined with the late communication, meant that Ms Bews was unable to participate as planned, and we are sorry for the disruption and frustration this caused. We are reviewing our communications process to prevent this from happening again."

The company has also offered to reimburse her travel expenses. Bews was later offered a place at another session in Altrincham near Manchester. However, the same policy applies there, meaning she still cannot attend while breastfeeding her daughter.

'I've faced this before'

Bews said this was not the first time motherhood had affected her career. "In business on previous maternity leaves, clients would terminate projects because I was going to have a baby," she said. "So in this pregnancy, I actually decided not to tell people that I was having a baby because it has been an issue before. But I've never had something like this where the reason I can't physically attend a business event is because I'm breastfeeding my baby."

The incident has sparked fresh debate about how breastfeeding mothers are accommodated at professional events. A similar controversy unfolded during London Tech Week last year when entrepreneur Davina Schonle was denied entry after arriving with her baby. Following widespread criticism, organisers updated their policy to allow children under two to attend and introduced a free on site creche for older children.