A female chief executive was denied entry to an Amazon business course in Scotland after being told she could not bring her breastfeeding infant on site due to health and safety rules.

Rachael Bews, 33, who runs the marketing agency Nu Coton, was barred from attending the Amazon Innovation Accelerator event at the company’s Dunfermline fulfilment centre last Friday. Bews had intended to bring her 20-week-old daughter, Sophia, along with her husband, who planned to care for the baby while Bews participated in the sessions and would leave the premises temporarily to breastfeed.

Despite notifying the organisers in advance about nursing her infant, the family was informed en route to the event that babies were not permitted on site. Bews described the experience as “devastating” and expressed frustration that the policy effectively restricted her access to the course: “It felt very difficult to accept that there was nowhere in that enormous campus that could safely allow me to feed our baby.”

Amazon’s Dunfermline facility is the company’s largest UK fulfilment centre, spanning 93,000 square metres—equivalent to 14 football pitches—including both industrial warehouse space and office areas. The site incorporates high-tech robotics and features private lactation rooms for employees to express and store breast milk.

The company said it apologised for not clearly communicating the site’s access policies to Bews before the event. Amazon reiterated that its long-standing health and safety policy prohibits children under six on all fulfilment centre sites, applying equally to visitors and employees. A spokesperson said the policy is designed to ensure safety within these industrial environments and that Amazon is reviewing internal communications to prevent similar incidents.

The Amazon Innovation Accelerator programme is aimed at UK small and medium-sized enterprises and mainly delivered online. It includes workshops and the opportunity to visit fulfilment centres to learn about the company’s technology, along with access to a portion of a £100,000 innovation grant.

Following the incident, Bews was offered a place at a future event scheduled at Amazon’s Altrincham centre in Manchester. However, the same restrictions on infants apply there, leaving her unable to attend.

The situation highlights ongoing challenges faced by working parents balancing professional development with childcare responsibilities, particularly regarding policies at industrial sites with strict safety regulations.