This week, a woman filed a suit against Delta Airlines because, she claims, she was asked to leave a flight on Freedom Airlines (an oh-so ironically named Delta carrier) after she breastfed her daughter. A Freedom spokesperson says the woman was given a blanket and told to cover up.

I've flown on Delta recently, and do I remember any flight attendants offering a blanket to the woman seated a few rows behind me--the one with the D-cup implants that were being held back from the world by nothing more than a partially zipped size-2 Juicy Couture hoodie? I do not.

It should be said that the plaintiff is not some chip-on-her-shoulder "lactivist" out to prove a point about breast being best or about Americans' puritanical prudishness when it comes to boobs. She says she was trying to be discreet and also that she left the aircraft of her own free will. "It embarassed me," she said.

I so feel for this woman. I too am a breastfeeding mom who has engaged in the acrobatics of trying to feed my squirming baby while sitting in a cramped airplane seat. Especially during takeoff and landing, it's a good idea for babies to suck on something to relieve the pressure on their ears because they don't yet know how to "pop" their ears by voluntarily yawning, swallowing, etc. But my son will no longer accept a blanket or any other covering over his head while he's eating, and he's coordinated enough to pull down any screen I try to construct. So despite my best efforts to wear shirts that only reveal the necessary parts or to have my husband run interference between me and prying eyes, or to sit in a corner somewhere facing the wall like a kid in time out, I am sometimes unable to be as discreet as I like. I've been known to suffer the occasional "wardrobe malfunction." But I refuse to refuse food to my baby, or to withhold something I know will make it a more comfortable flight for him (and, let's face it, for the dozens of other passengers on board who would have to endure his wailing otherwise).

I urge you to look into other carriers than Delta when booking your travel plans this season. If for no other reason than with a de facto ban on breastfeeding in effect, any packed Delta flight is statistically much more likely to have at least one baby on board who's screaming the entire time. Happy holidays!

And, if you are so inclined, please do go sign the petition against Delta Airlines sponsored by MomsRising.org.