Breastfeeding mum's warning after copping unexpected $1000 fine
She was gobsmacked to find the fine in the mail after she was spotted publicly.
Lifestyle
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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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"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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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 disputed the fine with the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
The DTMR was contacted for comment.
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Originally published as Breastfeeding mum's warning after copping unexpected $1000 fine