For countless parents traveling with breast milk, airport security has too often meant navigating a frustrating and humiliating process, despite a 2016 law meant to protect them. The 2016 Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening (BABES) Act was supposed to ensure breast milk, formula and the tools needed to transport them could pass through TSA checkpoints without incident. Yet, despite the law, many parents still faced inconsistent treatment, from being forced to dump milk to facing unhygienic inspections.
One mother’s negative experience at TSA inspired her to push for change. After TSA agents forced her to leave her cold packs behind, Emily Calandrelli, the host of Netflix’s Emily’s Wonder Lab and YouTube’s Emily’s Science Lab, began working with lawmakers to strengthen the protections that weren’t being enforced. Her efforts have now resulted in a new law that closes the gaps left by the original legislation. Passed last month, the BABES Enhancement Act is designed to ensure parents can travel with breast milk and the equipment needed to safely store and transport it, without confusion or unhygienic treatment.
The incident that inspired Calandrelli’s activism occurred in 2022. Calandrelli was taking her first work trip away from her 10-week-old son and planned to pump before a five-hour flight. She needed to store the milk for her baby and brought a gel pack to keep it cold, but the pack thawed on the way to the airport. TSA agents said she couldn’t bring it on board because it wasn’t fully frozen. When she asked for a supervisor, he questioned why her baby wasn’t with her and told her it wouldn’t have been a problem if she had had the child with her. She was told she had to throw out the ice packs or check them.
“Yesterday, I was humiliated that I had to explain to three grown men that my breasts still produce milk when I’m not with my child. Yesterday, I was embarrassed telling them about my fear of mastitis if I didn’t pump. Today, I’m furious,” Calandrelli described in a tweet at the time.
After sharing her story publicly, Calandrelli was inundated with messages from women who’d faced similar treatment. Many described that their breast milk was handled without basic hygiene, and others told her they faced pushback when they asked the TSA inspectors to put on clean gloves. Some described to her how TSA officers dipped test strips directly into their breast milk, while one mother was told she needed to sip her own milk to prove it wasn’t dangerous. Still others recounted being forced to dump milk that exceeded the standard three-ounce liquid limit, despite breast milk being explicitly exempt from that rule.
Instead of simply venting about her own experience and moving on, Calandrelli channeled her frustration to help other pumping mothers.
BABES Enhancement Act Passed
As a result of her efforts, the BABES Enhancement Act was signed on November 25 and will force TSA to be accountable for how it treats breast milk, formula and related equipment. First, TSA must develop clear hygienic screening guidelines under the guidance of nationally recognized maternal health organizations. The law also calls for consistent officer training and requires TSA to better communicate parents’ rights at security checkpoints. To ensure real accountability, an independent watchdog will audit TSA’s compliance and help prevent future mishandling.
“This is a huge win for traveling mothers. The BABES Act ensures TSA officers receive proper training and follow hygienic standards so parents can travel with confidence. This is about giving families peace of mind and making sure babies have the nutrition they need,” Representative Eric Swalwell, the lead House sponsor, said in a statement.
Calandrelli says the bill’s unanimous passage in both the House and Senate gave her a sense of optimism. In a moment when bipartisan agreement is rare, she found it meaningful that lawmakers from both parties championed the effort. Although the primary sponsors in the House and Senate were Democrats, she explains, “The Republican leaders and co-sponsors were incredibly helpful, and I want to make sure they get their credit as well.”
Making It Easier for Mothers to Keep Pumping
As a result of her own issues traveling with breast milk, Calandrelli told me she stopped breastfeeding earlier than she planned. She even tried a service that ships milk for traveling parents, but she says, “They lost my milk in transit, and I lost a lot of milk.” The uncertainty about whether her breast milk would reach her destination made it too complicated. “I stopped breastfeeding because it was just too hard with work,” she explained. She noted that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for up to two years, yet the U.S. provides few structural supports for mothers. “It all just felt like this one big irony, and, for me, what that resulted in, was me stopping breastfeeding early so that I could continue working,” she said.
With the passage of this bill, parents can finally hope to travel knowing their breast milk will make it through the checkpoint and be treated hygienically. As a result, it could empower more working moms to continue breastfeeding longer, should they choose to.
Still, Calandrelli urges families to familiarize themselves with the TSA rules and keep them handy while traveling so they can advocate for their rights in the moment. “I didn’t know how to advocate for myself, and I think that if I had known the policy, and I knew to use the word like ‘this is a medically necessary item,’ then maybe my problem would have been solved on the spot,” she explained.