New Zealand police alarmed at breastfeeding motorists

WELLINGTON—New Zealand police said Tuesday they were shocked at the number of mothers they found breastfeeding babies while driving along motorways in the country’s largest city Auckland.

Police said they stopped three breastfeeding drivers this month while carrying out a 10-day operation aimed at ensuring children were properly restrained in vehicles.

“They were each driving a vehicle on the motorway. They were stopped and spoken to,” Inspector Shanan Gray said, stressing that the practice placed both mother and child “in an extremely dangerous situation”.

“If they had to stop their vehicle suddenly, or they were involved in a serious crash, the infant would surely be ejected from the vehicle,” he said.

Gray said police were also stunned at the number of children being transported in car boots (trunks).

He said the number of children found to be at risk during the operation was “extremely disappointing”.