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Edinburgh mother petitions UK Parliament for paid breastfeeding breaks at work

Rachael Bews, an Edinburgh entrepreneur, has lodged a UK Parliament petition for a statutory right to paid breastfeeding and expressing breaks at work, with suitable facilities. The UK Government has been asked for comment.

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Evening Standard
Image: Daily Mirror

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The story, neutrally told

Rachael Bews, a mother of three from Edinburgh, has lodged a petition with the UK Parliament calling for a statutory right to paid breastfeeding and expressing breaks at work, together with suitable workplace facilities. The petition says that "breastfeeding parents in the UK have no statutory right to paid breastfeeding or expressing breaks at work", which it claims "forces many to choose between feeding their baby and participating fully in work". Ms Bews, founder of the Nu Coton marketing agency, started her Don't Make Me Choose campaign after being prevented from attending a professional development programme because she could not bring her then five-month-old daughter, whom she was breastfeeding.

Ms Bews said the campaign is "not about asking for special treatment" but about "removing a practical barrier to health, equality and workforce participation". She said that since speaking publicly she has heard from women who have expressed milk in toilets, weaned earlier than they wanted to, lost income, turned down opportunities or left work altogether. Ms Bews also argued that the Government encourages women to breastfeed, but workplace law does not give them a clear right to the time and facilities that make it possible.

If more than 10,000 people sign, the Government must respond; more than 100,000 signatures would see the issue considered for debate in Parliament. The UK Government had been contacted for comment and no response was reported.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Presents the petition as a mother's campaign, using near-identical Press Association Scotland copy with slightly more emphatic verbs ("demanding", "barred").
Emphasis
Ms Bews's quotes about the choice between breastfeeding and earning a living.
Leaves out or plays down
No Government or employer response; no data on how many mothers are affected.
Charged language
“demanding”“barred”
For example
“A mother of three is demanding a change in the law to ensure that breastfeeding parents receive paid time off work to feed their baby or express milk.” — Daily Mirror

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Straightforward report of the petition and Ms Bews's argument, in the same agency copy with milder wording ("calling for", "prevented").
Emphasis
Ms Bews's personal account and the petition thresholds.
Leaves out or plays down
No Government or employer response; no data on how many mothers are affected.
For example
“A mother of three is calling for a change in the law so that breastfeeding parents can have paid time off work to feed their baby or express milk for them.” — Evening Standard

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.