Mom’s Night Out Ruined Because Security Wouldn’t Let Her in With a Breast Pump

It’s a given, spontaneous nights out on the town are basically impossible when you’re a parent to little ones. Which is why Kate Aulette threw all her energy into prepping for a fun night with friends at a concert. Giving herself enough time to come up with a game plan, she called the venue to ensure she’d be able to bring her breast pump past security. They told her it wouldn’t be a problem. But fast forward to the night of the concert, and it was most definitely a problem. Now, Aulette is speaking out about her terrible experience.

“I was trying to have a fun night with my husband and friends—which as a parent happens not often—only to have to endure someone telling me that I can’t bring my pump because I don’t have my baby with me.”

It all went down at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The mom and her friends were excited to see Ariana Grande in concert. As an added precaution following the tragic 2017 bombing at Grande’s Manchester concert, concert-goers were only allowed to bring in items that were in clear plastic bags. As a working mom who pumps breast milk for her 7-month-old baby, Aulette knew she’d have to plan ahead.

“Look, in all honesty it’s not my favorite thing to bring with me places, but I [have to] do what I [have to] do to keep my baby fed and myself from getting engorged,” she says. Giving herself enough time to work out all the kinks, Aulette called the venue the week of the concert to find out if she’d be able to bring her pump in. On the phone call, the staff verified that since it was a medical device, it wouldn’t be an issue. Once the day of the concert finally rolled around, Aulette rushed home from work, fed her kids and got them ready for the night with their grandparents. All seemed to be going according to plan, but the mom was in for a rude awakening.

Much to her dismay, once she reached the security point, she was told she couldn’t come in with her pump. At this point, everyone in her group had already entered and scanned their tickets, so they weren’t allowed back outside to help the mom. After speaking with a manager and a supervisor, she was told she’d only be allowed inside with the pump if her baby was with her, which certainly defeats the purpose. “After going around and explaining that it’s important for me to be able to express milk when I am not with my baby, he still was not having it and refused to let me in with my pump,” she explains.

The mom was left with no choice but to walk all the way back to the bus she and her friends rented, wait to pump and then go back into the concert. “If I would have known ahead of time that I would not be allowed to bring my pump, I would have made other arrangements…Either way, with being away from my baby for eight hours, I was going to need to pump,” she vents. “The fact that I called ahead to verify that it was an approved item and was still not allowed in is what pissed me off.”

Since the incident, Little Caesars Arena has reached out to apologize to the mom. Aulette says they were embarrassed and ensured her the facility is equipped for breastfeeding moms. They even extended an invitation for the mother to come back, but she says that’s not the point. “All I asked is that they have better communication between all staff members and to educate on breastfeeding and pumping so another fellow mama doesn’t have to go through this.”

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