Took DS for hossie appointment yesterday, I saw this sign about feeding babies. in the childrens' waiting room...

[MehgaLegs]

...Parents - there is a quiet room for feeding baby.

Now, what would that make you think? At first I thought that's good that they have a baby room but then I thought well you could just sit and feed here.

Do you think the sign meant they wanted you to go and feed there or was it just politely informing you that there was indeed a quiet room if you wished to use it.

If you were breastfeeding would you feel you had to go and use the quiet room?

As I haven't breastfed for over two years now it really was nothing to do with me but I was interested in how other MNetters would perceive it.

[thisisyesterday]

I would think, that's nice, they're providing a room for people to use who might not want to feed in front of everyone else.

personally I would feed ds2 where I was, would definitely not feel like I had to use the room.

[Turniphead1]

I think that is nice. Not everyone, esp when you are starting out, wants to feed in a crowded waiting room. Don't think I would feel obliged to go and sit in it if I didn't want to - esp with an older sibling who was playing with the obligatory dirty/broken toys...

[MehgaLegs]

Yes, I thought it was a positive sign but then I sat there (it was a long wait )and dwelled on it and wondered if anyone perceived it differently.

[ExterminAitch]

when i was ffing i would have jumped at the chance of a quiet room... would i have been wrong to go there do you think? would bfing mums have been bashing the door down?

[2point4kids]

I would have thought it was positive

[mazzystar]

its there if you want it
i think you are being over-vigilant in name of the Cause

[JackieNo]

And nice that it said 'Parents' rather than gender-specific, too.

[TrinityRhino]

I would have thought it was meant as a nice sign
showing you there was a room if you wanted it

BUT having never understood why anyone would want a room I may have taken it as a veiled requset that you use it and I would have fumed silently for about 5 secs while I fed gecko where I was and then thought no more about it

[EachPeachPearMum]

I think most people would be glad of it- baby isn't distracted, and in the area I live in many women want to bf in relative privacy due to cultural/religious preferences.

I would prefer a separate room, simply so that people coughing up blood etc were kept as far away as possible from my PFB's mouth!
My little monkey would let aything distract her when she fed, so its good to be in a boring quiet room.
I think she would have been like that even if she had been ffing.

[MehgaLegs]

EPEM - ow yes, what DH called Bubble gum nipple, when baby is distracted and tries to turn head without letting go.

[QuintessentialShadows]

I would think it was nice.

My former london surgery had done something different. They had made a quiet area on the other side of reception, far away from the play corner with books and toys (but still in view). It was for people who wanted a more peaceful atmosphere for whatever reason.

I used it when ds was so ill he could barely keep himself up and he was frequently sick, while waiting for the apointment.

[ExterminAitch]

you didn't answer my question. i'd have wanted to go there to get some peace while ffing dd, so that she could eat annd chill... was the sign only meant for bfers, do you think?

[cornflakegirl]

Surely if just for bfers, they wouldn't have put Parents?

[ExterminAitch]

sooooooo. would you be cross if i was in there?

[JackieNo]

I think for anyone - many babies feed better (however they're being fed) when there's a bit of peace and quiet.

[MehgaLegs]

If I am honest I would assume it was for breast feeding.

[MehgaLegs]

But it wouldn't bother me in the least if another parent was ff in there.

(This is all completely hypotheitically on my part as my bfeeding days are long gone)

[ib]

I would not be at all cross to see someone ff in a baby feeding room.

[ExterminAitch]

well if that's the case then there's no problem, is there? it really is just a baby feeding room, where you can either get yer tits out or all those buggery-bollocky bits of feeding equipment out and still have a safe and peaceful environment for the baby. i suppose the presence of a bottle-warmer would clinch it.

[Hannah81]

i think it is just a room for feeding in - any feeding - that is a quiet room without ant distraction - mu DS1 wound always pull at my nipple to see what was going on but i think i still would have fed where i was 0 DS2 is 11wks and i wouldn't go to another room - i think they just meant it as a nice gesture in case you didn't like feeding in public.

[Beachcomber]

Sounds to me like they got it just about perfect really. I would not assume that I was obliged to use the room, equally I would not assume that the room was intended for breastfeeding only.

Putting a sign saying that there is a quiet place for parents who want to feed a baby says to me that mothers and fathers can go and feed their baby be it formula, breastmilk, expressed breastmilk, or some solids.

If I were to use such a room and there was another parent there bottle feeding I hope we would both think nothing other than how pleasant it was to be in a calm space feeding our children.

I have rarely used baby feeding areas but when I have, there have generaly been both bottle and breast feeding parents there (usually women right enough). Anybody who really thinks that a feeding room should only be used by breastfeeding mums is rude and selfish IMO. All babies have the right to be fed in a calm clean environment just as all women have the right to feed their babies in public if they so wish.

[JRHartley]

I started to bf my ds in the children's ward outpatients waiting room and one of the receptionists loudly informed me " we've got a breast room" "a breast room?" I said. She said " just in case you don't feel comfortable" I said "Well I did...."

A man sat nearby said "You were alright until she stuck her nose in"

Until she loudly drew everyone's attention to me I don't think anyone had noticed. But it is great they have a room available for anyone that wants it. I just didn't think feeding a child in a children's ward would be a problem.

[lovelysongbird]

i think the poster should there is a quite room to feed the baby, if you wish to use it.

simple, clear, easy

[StealthPolarBear]

lol at breast room
brings up some strange images in my mind...

[JRHartley]

It wasn't as strange as she made it sound, just a curtained-off area. Bit disappointing really.