Heavily pregnant woman wets herself after Iceland says she can't use their toilet
She was told to go to the pub across the road - and gave birth the next day
Anyone who's ever been pregnant knows that the loo becomes a place you get to know pretty well.
In the early stages you need it all the time 'cos of hormones, and in the latter stages you need it because you've got another human pushing on your bladder constantly.
So we weren't, in one sense, totally surprised when we read this story in The Sun, about an 8-month-pregnant mum from Caerphilly, South Wales, who wet herself when out shopping in Iceland as they wouldn't let her use the staff loo.
Mum of 3, Danielle Cull, told the paper:
"I went to do my shop with my 8-year-old son. I had paid and phoned a taxi to pick us up who said they would be with me in 15 minutes.
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"All of sudden I just felt this excruciating pain through my back and my stomach and had this sudden urge to go to the toilet. I thought I was about to wet myself.
"I went over to the female manager and explained my situation.
"She just said no, it wasn't their policy to let customers use the toilet. She told me I needed to run to the pub over the road and go in there.
"I just started crying I really needed to go and I was in pain.
"After trying to get her to understand I gave up and had to run to the pub. I even had to leave my son and the shopping unattended I was so desperate.
"By the time I had got to the pub I had actually already wet myself."
Oh man ?
Here at MFM, whenever we hear a story like this, we usually find ourselves mumbling something abut health and safety and blanket policies...which, it seems, is exactly what was going on here.
A spokesperson for the store said:
"We pride ourselves on being a caring business, but our store colleagues also have to be conscious of their responsibility to comply with our health and safety procedures at all times.
"These preclude us from offering members of the public access to staff toilet facilities in any of our stores because they are located in back areas where stock is also held, increasing the risks of an accident occurring.
"While naturally sympathetic to our customer, our female colleague in Caerphilly was also conscious of the importance of not exposing a heavily pregnant lady to any such danger."
So, the store was just sticking to the rules. And rules are rules, right? Hmmm....
What do you think?
Was the store right to refuse to let Danielle use their facilities - or is it all health and safety gone mad?
Should all bigger stores be made to provide a separate customer toilet - after all, it's not just pregnant ladies that find themselves desperate to spend a penny when out on a shop, is it?
Tell us in the comments below or over on Facebook
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Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
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