Pregnant passenger asked to prove it.

[Johnuk123]

A pregnant woman has been asked to prove it after deciding she would upgrade herself to 1st on the GWR.

A pregnant mum has branded a rail company 'cold-hearted' after she claimed a ticket inspector asked her for proof she was expecting.
Claire Hillard, who is seven months pregnant, took a seat in first class on Monday after rail delays at Maidenhead Station caused a crowd of people to rush for the train.
She said for the safety of her unborn child she decided to sit in first class to guarantee a seat for her commute into London.
The 36-year-old said when the Great Western Railway ticket inspector arrived she told him she was happy to pay the difference for the seat, but was shocked when he asked her for proof she was pregnant.

https://www.maidenhead-advertiser.c...spector-asked-for-proof-she-was-pregnant.html

 

[rebmcr]

One-sided-story sense tingling...

 

[TheEdge]

Quite, or possibly a nice bit of spin...

 

[J-2739]

Couldn't she, like, ask for a priority seat instead?

 

[GatwickDepress]

GWR do offer a scheme for pregnant women.

https://www.gwr.com/about-us/our-business/passengers-charter
First class upgrades for mums-to-be
We know it can be hard for pregnant women when there aren’t any seats in our carriages. That’s why we offer women who are 25 weeks into their pregnancy, and have a standard class season ticket, a first
class upgrade. That way, if there aren’t any standard class seats, they can sit in any first class seats that are free.

If you’d like to be upgraded while you’re expecting, please send us a copy of your:
• season ticket
• photocard
• Maternity Certificate (MAT B1) or Family Health Services Authority
Exemption Certificate (FP92) – you can get these from your midwife or GP.
You can send them to our Customer Support team at:
GWR
Customer Support
FREEPOST RSKT-AHAZ-SLRH
Plymouth

 

[AlterEgo]

"Safety of the unborn baby", what a load of old toss.

 

[FileTrekker]

Asking to see MatB1 as proof of pregnancy is standard practice, I don't see why she's outraged - without checks for these things, anyone could just wander into First Class and claim to be pregnant.

 

[miami]

Asking to see MatB1 as proof of pregnancy is standard practice, I don't see why she's outraged - without checks for these things, anyone could just wander into First Class and claim to be pregnant.

Not convinced that would work for the majority of the population.

 

[zuriblue]

Not convinced that would work for the majority of the population.

Certainly just under 50% would fail automatically.

 

[philthetube]

I think I would need a shave first, got the lump though.

 

[miami]

Certainly just under 50% would fail automatically.

Plus those clearly under the age of c. 12 and clearly over c. 65

Alas like philthetube my pregnancy bump also shows

 

[GatwickDepress]

"Safety of the unborn baby", what a load of old toss.

My pregnant mother was standing on a crowded bus a good decade or two ago. Some idiot with a rucksack swung around without noticing her and hit her straight in the womb with it. She started having pains later that day and had a miscarriage a few days later.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Asking to see MatB1 as proof of pregnancy is standard practice, I don't see why she's outraged - without checks for these things, anyone could just wander into First Class and claim to be pregnant.

Noting what was said in the report in the OP, I think that being seven months into a term of pregnancy for most expecting mothers would have clearly visible signs of a pregnancy.

 

[RichmondCommu]

My pregnant mother was standing on a crowded bus a good decade or two ago. Some idiot with a rucksack swung around without noticing her and hit her straight in the womb with it. She started having pains later that day and had a miscarriage a few days later.

That's desperately sad I'm sorry.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

"Safety of the unborn baby", what a load of old toss.

Clearly you don't care about unborn children. Heaven forbid that you might have a child of your own one day.

 

[NSEFAN]

Presumably the reason why she didn't just ask for a seat in standard class is because talking to strangers is a mortal sin in the London commuter belt?

 

[J-2739]

My pregnant mother was standing on a crowded bus a good decade or two ago. Some idiot with a rucksack swung around without noticing her and hit her straight in the womb with it. She started having pains later that day and had a miscarriage a few days later.

I almost shed a tear reading this:cry:, I pray this didn't have any long term effects.

 

[reb0118]

I knew a passenger who was pregnant for about 13 months is this normal for humans?

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[BestWestern]

To have a guess at the actual sequence of events here then, she was very probably asked for the required letter from GWR permitting the upgrade, and presumably didn't have one. The wording of the local rag effort appears to casually dismiss that she was willing to pay, almost seeming to suggest that the staff member continued to demand her 'proof' in spite of her offering the price of the upgrade, which quite obviously would be a deeply bizarre sequence of events. We have no way of knowing how busy the train was either, which is rather crucial - expectant mothers are offered the upgrade only if there are NO seats in standard, it isn't intended to make first class a maternity zone.

 

[LLivery]

"Safety of the unborn baby", what a load of old toss.

Is it? Emergency gets slammed, she looses balance, could easily miscarriage. I will never forget the time a close family member miscarried and if I was her I wouldn't give a flying toss what anyone else thought, I'm sitting down.

 

[driver_m]

"Safety of the unborn baby", what a load of old toss.

After reading that other post, I hope you're suitably ashamed of yourself.

 

[AlterEgo]

After reading that other post, I hope you're suitably ashamed of yourself.

You would have to be extremely unfortunate to lose a baby because you were standing on public transport. While I'm sorry it upset anyone, it's not because of the safety of unborn babies that there are Mums To Be upgrade schemes. They exist because pregnant women may need a seat because they are exhausted or unwell.

Most daily activities that pregnant women undertake (crossing the road, being in a car) have the same level of risk as standing on a train, which is not that risky at all.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Is it? Emergency gets slammed, she looses balance, could easily miscarriage. I will never forget the time a close family member miscarried and if I was her I wouldn't give a flying toss what anyone else thought, I'm sitting down.

My mother miscarried in her late teens (long before I, a big surprise, arrived!) due to being in a car accident. That was also very unfortunate and sad, but she still got in cars when pregnant with me.

 

[70014IronDuke]

Is it? Emergency gets slammed, she looses balance, could easily miscarriage. I will never forget the time a close family member miscarried and if I was her I wouldn't give a flying toss what anyone else thought, I'm sitting down.

The loss of an unborn child is a terrible tragedy for all involved - but this kind of attitude doesn't really help, does it? If a pregnant woman goes up to the guard/conductor and explains her case in a civilised way, I'm sure most staff will be more than sympathetic. Simply demanding, well ..... it usually does not help the customer facing staff in any situation, however decent they are.

 

[The Ham]

Is it? Emergency gets slammed, she looses balance, could easily miscarriage. I will never forget the time a close family member miscarried and if I was her I wouldn't give a flying toss what anyone else thought, I'm sitting down.

Loss of ability to balance as normal is quite common amongst pregnant women (and not just due to change of weight distribution), as such even normal movements of trains could be quite hard to overcome to remain standing.

With regards to an element of "proof" the NHS provide expectant mothers with a certificate to allow them to claim free treatments (i.e. dentist)/prescriptions that they would otherwise not be entitled to. Although this is valid for a year after birth it would place a limit on those blagging a free upgrade on one off trips (rather than commuters with season tickets).

I would advise anyone I know who is pregnant to ask a passenger for seat, if that is not fruitful (and even most of the time it would be) then to try and approach a member of staff for guidance if practical.

 

[BestWestern]

After reading that other post, I hope you're suitably ashamed of yourself.

That's a tad harsh.

A couple of things to bear in mind here, from a staff point of view;

Not everyone who is pregnant, looks it. Indeed, some women have supposedly given birth without even realising that they were (eeek!). Let's say for arguments' sake that the lady was 'well built'. Under a layer of winter clothing and a heavy coat, it may not have been at all obvious.

The policy allows pregnant ladies to take a seat in First Class where no standard class seats are available. This is important; First Class is not offered as some sort of perk for getting yourself pregnant, it is a last resort for the purpose of avoiding standing on crush loaded services. This interpretation is not always shared by the passengers concerned.

The policy requires a letter to be obtained from GWR, and produced on any relevant journeys. Unless staff have been specifically instructed to waive this requirement if someone appears 'obviously pregnant' - I don't believe that is the case - then they are entitled to believe that they should be enforcing the policy as it is written. I know a TM who will quite happily ask these ladies to take an available seat in standard where there is one, cheerily pointing out to them that 'it is a gift, not an illness'

I very highly suspect that all that has happened here is a pregnant lady has sat in First Class and been asked to produce the required letter, and has duly decided to be offended. Hardly newsworthy.

 

[AlterEgo]

I very highly suspect that all that has happened here is a pregnant lady has sat in First Class and been asked to produce the required letter, and has duly decided to be offended. Hardly newsworthy.

I suspect this too. Local news has to survive somehow.

 

[richw]

When my wife was pregnant she carried her maternity exemption everywhere with her as she kept it in her phone wallet. This is all GWR require as proof as per their policy, which is advertised online.
The guard was in my opinion looking to gain proof so (s)he didn't have to charge for the upgrade. A positive customer service move which has been spun negatively, maybe due to the way it was explained, or pregnant woman not understanding.

 

[Tetchytyke]

There are a lot of health complications that can happen in pregnancy, my ex-wife had SPD while she was carrying my daughter and it meant she could barely walk. Don't assume that pregnancy does nothing except make you a bit bigger and crave Marmite.

That said, the guard hasn't really done anything wrong, the policy is a free upgrade if you have your MATB1 or exemption certificate so the guard asked for a copy of it. I'm guessing a rant on Twitter because she didn't understand was picked up by the local paper, because it's cheaper than proper journalism.

 

[Antman]

The loss of an unborn child is a terrible tragedy for all involved - but this kind of attitude doesn't really help, does it? If a pregnant woman goes up to the guard/conductor and explains her case in a civilised way, I'm sure most staff will be more than sympathetic. Simply demanding, well ..... it usually does not help the customer facing staff in any situation, however decent they are.

I agree that attitude doesn't help at all, when my daughter was pregnant last year she commented on how helpful so many people were. I don't know why nobody offered the lady in this incident a seat although it might not have been apparent that she was pregnant?

 

[Rob F]

Couldn't she, like, ask for a priority seat instead?

<PEDANT> It is bad enough that anybody under the age of 30 seems unable to speak without including the word 'like' at least once in every sentence they utter, but this is the first time I have seen this disease spread to the written word. </PEDANT>:roll:

 

[Bishopstone]

That's a tad harsh.
The policy allows pregnant ladies to take a seat in First Class where no standard class seats are available.

Hopefully this stipulation is interpreted sensibly, by both expectant mothers and rail staff.

On a 3xTurbo consist, without corridor connections, if the vestibules of the first unit are packed with standees, is it expected that the pregnant lady should rush along the platform to check-out the position in the other two units, for example? Particularly at an intermediate (30 second) station stop.

But equally, if/when passenger numbers thin during the course of the journey, those concerned should be expected to check, periodically, whether Standard seats have become available and move as necessary. A crowded HST between Paddington and Reading should not be a passport to an upgrade all the way to Plymouth.