‘What’s happened?’: Mum’s $1000 fine for breastfeeding

A mum returning from her honeymoon was gobsmacked to find the fine in the mail after she was spotted by a traffic camera.

A mum has received a $1000 fine after a speed camera spotted her breastfeeding in her car.

Meagan Schmock couldn’t believe her eyes when she read the letter containing the eye-watering fine and discovered the photo detailing the alleged offence.

“It was $1161 and four demerit points. I was gobsmacked. I was shocked,” she told A Current Affair on Thursday.

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“I saw the money fine first and I was just like, ‘What’s happened’?

“And then as I’ve unfolded the letter, I’ve seen this photo and then looked closer and been like, ‘That’s me pumping’.”

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Mum Meagan was left shocked when she was fined $1161 for shifting her seatbelt to express milk. Pictures: ACA

"I was getting engorged and it was incredibly uncomfortable"

She had been sitting in the passenger seat of the car with her husband Benjamin, driving home from their Gold Coast honeymoon when the incident took place.

“To have to sit in the car for an hour-and-a-half, maybe two hours, waiting to get home to feed my little one, it just wasn't going to happen,” Mrs Schmock said.

“I was getting quite engorged and it was getting incredibly uncomfortable for me.”

Without thinking twice about it, she pulled her seatbelt over her head so she could unhook her breast pump.

She claims the photo shows the belt was slipped under her arm for a second and remained clipped in the whole time.

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She wants to warn other mums to avoid them receiving the same shock in the mail. Picture: ACA

Mum had "no idea" she could be fined for adjusting seatbelt

She said she had no idea she could be fined for adjusting her seatbelt and figured many others didn’t either, so she posted about the fine on social media explaining the situation.

“I felt a lot of support from that – realising that a lot more (mums) didn't know,” she said.

“As a breastfeeding mum – and I‘m sure any other mums who have breastfed or who have pumped before know that – you can’t just really wait.

“Particularly when you’re almost at the stage of engorgement, it’s incredibly painful.”

The couple are disputing the fine with the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

The DTMR has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as ‘What’s happened?’: Mum’s $1000 fine for breastfeeding