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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think you shouldn't breastfeed in a swimming pool

539 replies

HappierThanEverBefore · 28/05/2014 20:13

Went swimming today & as I was walking to the steps there was a lady sitting on them breastfeeding.

I carried on as if nothing was wrong but the mentioned it to the life guard as I walked out. The lady looked disgusted that she was told to stop or carry on else where

AIBU to think it's wrong to breastfeed in the swimming pool

OP posts:
aprilanne · 29/05/2014 00:08

while I have no problem with breast feeding if done discretely .not in full view in a swimmimg pool .I mean you just cant do what you like and to hell with everyone else .whats wrong with going to changing rooms .I bet the poor baby was cold being half in and out the water .

browneyedgirl86 · 29/05/2014 00:09

Is it the seeing it that makes it a problem?

Most likely. My MIL and my own DM said they agreed with breastfeeding, (MIL did BF) but they were of the school of thought that it was like going to the toilet, that was natural but you didn't want to do that in front of strangers! Needless to say going round to theirs was very awkward when I was breastfeeding. I remember at Christmas when DD was a newborn I was shown to the spare room to feed. Which at the time I was comfortable with as it was my first and it was a nightmare to start with, but when I got the hang of it I was discreet and kind of resented being made to leave every time the baby was hungry. But that's another story!

PrincessBabyCat · 29/05/2014 00:15

I'm sure the baby's head was covering far more than most bikini tops do. Hmm

Feenie · 29/05/2014 00:21

I mean you just cant do what you like and to hell with everyone else

When it comes to bfing, yes, you can. Ffs. What is the matter with you people?

BeCool · 29/05/2014 00:28

no problem with breast feeding if done discretely

You do actually have a problem with bf. Be honest, at least with yourself.

aprilanne · 29/05/2014 00:28

sorry but some people still find it uncomfortable .and why should other people not express there views .I am a mother of 3 sons and I would not have found it comfortable .and its not very hygienic for the baby .I mean you would,nt eat food in the water .so why just sit there it would have took 2 minutes to go to changing rooms and get a towel to wrap up a bit .

feathermucker · 29/05/2014 00:35

It's pretty damn simple really. If it makes you uncomfortable......are you ready.........don't look!

The breastfeeding peer supporter hell bent on encouraging discretion.......wtf?!

HIV transmission?!?!?! Oh. My. Actual. Christ.

Firstly, if she was HIV+, she wouldn't be breastfeeding (unless she didn't know.....unlikeky!)

Secondly, the ONLY person at risk is the suckling infant!There are no documented cases of HIV EVER beung transmitted via breastmilk other than to a feeding baby.

Seriously, have you actually taken something?!

feathermucker · 29/05/2014 00:38

Feenie, I'm with you 100%.

To those acvusing Feenie of overreacting, I'm afraid horrified, frustrated disbelief is a common reaction to utter, mund-numbing stupidity Wink

aprilanne · 29/05/2014 00:39

feather mucker .I hope you no getting at me .I certainly never said anything about hiv .I know as a nurse that she would not be feeding in those circumstances .

Feenie · 29/05/2014 00:42

orry but some people still find it uncomfortable .and why should other people not express there views .

Because your views are actually illegal, that's fucking why.

And they're also illiterate.

feathermucker · 29/05/2014 00:43

My answer was in response to a poster further up the page who spouted utter nonsense about HIV transmission being a potential 'risk'

Why on earth would you think I'm getting at you if you posted nothing about HIV?! Confused

feathermucker · 29/05/2014 00:48

No one is saying don't express your views, but you must be prepared for your views to be questioned and analysed. Especially when they are pretty bizarre to those of us who feel that finding it uncomfortable is unnatural.....whereas the act itself is perfectly natural Wink

aprilanne · 29/05/2014 00:49

bloody hell FEENIE I am just saying not everyone thinks it ok .and its not illegal to give my view .I still think not a poolside .

aprilanne · 29/05/2014 00:50

FEATHERMUCKER.sorry .I apologise

feathermucker · 29/05/2014 00:52

Incidentally, I never breastfed (long story)

aprilanne · 29/05/2014 01:00

neither did I not that you would have guessed .

Feenie · 29/05/2014 01:01

Don't give a fuck what you think - express your views where you like ad nauseum, they're still contrary to the actual, you know, fucking LAW.

BuntyCollocks · 29/05/2014 01:06

FFS it's a BOOB.

As for kids looking and commenting - so what? That's what boobs are made for. Good on her for normalising bf in public.

You are TOTALLY unreasonable.

Lanabelle · 29/05/2014 01:09

you are being unreasonable, and for the record its an offence to tell her to stop or move her on

mindthegap79 · 29/05/2014 04:52

Just checking in again (as my dd has her breastfeed) to reiterate again that OP, YABU.

In fact OP, your unlawful views, and those of an alarming number of posters, are totally damn disgusting.

I agree with everything that feenie said.

If my baby is hungry, then I will feed her. If you have a problem with that, then please stop staring at my tits and mind your own business. Otherwise dd and I may find you when YOU are eating to peer rudely at you and make sick noises.

I haven't yet needed to feed dd by the pool, but of course I would if she was hungry.

The only place I would never feed her is in a toilet.

That HIV comment by the way - un-effing-believable.

mindthegap79 · 29/05/2014 04:58

Off to sleep again now before dd's next feed in a couple of hours.

I'm just imagining what it would be like if I did what some posters would seem to prefer and nevee fed my daughter in public.

I wonder if dd fancies a trip to the swimming pool today - although we'll have to be careful what with all that HIV floating around the shallow end, especially if we're eating...

FamiliesShareGerms · 29/05/2014 06:04

I don't understand the logistics - if you only have the baby, / he'll probably get chilly on the side of the pool. If you are supervising other children, you're not really able to do that properly with your hands full bf. And sitting on steps for a long time is not normally allowed because you block access for other pool users.

amount of boob on show is irrelevant

Booboostoo · 29/05/2014 06:47

YABU, illegal and your thread is depressing and full of irrational, contradictory arguments.

SaltySeaBird · 29/05/2014 06:50

"The breastfeeding peer supporter hellbent on encouraging discretion"
"did you not have training on being judgemental"
"What did you think was unsafe about feeding in a pool

Just to come back on the comments directed at me (somebody who has given up at least 150 hours of my own time up at the hospital voluntarily helping new mothers learn to breast feed so I'm hardly anti-breastfeeding).

  1. I'm not hellbent on encouraging discretion. What a ridiculous thing to say. A lot of women I speak to are really scared of breastfeeding in public, they really worry about it and it can put them off breastfeeding. I tell them it can be done in a discreet way, people won't even notice.

People do remember seeing others baring all and sometimes think that's how it will be for them; it doesn't have to be. Fundamentally most women don't want to sit, fully exposed in a public place. It does make some people uncomfortable (whether it should or not is another issue). It creates negative discussion about breastfeeding. If there is a choice, then I do think discretion is a good thing. I'd hardly say that was a hellbent attitude.

One of the most common questions I get asked is about breastfeeding in public. New mothers worry about it and most don't want to be stared at or become the focal point of discussion.

  1. Yes plenty of training thanks, 10 weeks of it. A lot focused on not being judgemental about formula feeding and being able to help mothers who didn't want to breastfeed and were uncomfortable when their milk supply came in. We were also taught not to show our personal opinions when talking to new mothers in our peer supporting capacity.
  1. As I said, if the mother is in the pool with other children I don't think they can be safely supervised if you are concentrating on a feed. If you are sitting on the steps you are potentially blocking access to the pool, that's not safe either. If children get boisterous in the pool (which they can do) then you might get knocked into and could loose your grip, dropping the baby into water. No issue with the hygiene. I just don't think it's a safe place to feed when you have a choice. I fed my daughter sitting on a plastic seat at the side of the pool a couple of times, both wrapped in towels to stay warm. We then went back in the water to join friends.

I certainly wouldn't complain about the woman in the pool as I'd be thinking good on you for breastfeeding and getting on with it, it doesn't mean I personally think it is the best way or place to go about it. Sorry if that's a nasty view as one person described it.

MrsMook · 29/05/2014 07:29

I've fed poolside on a seat in my cossie. I deliberately had a cossie that was easy to pull aside, and baby's head covered the rest of the breast. It was a photo session for my 2 year old, and I was not wasting the fee I'd paid by going on a slow, cold walk round the corridors to the changing room. The pool was not a practical design for sitting, but had it been that style, it would have been a warmer option.

I exposed far more in the communal family changing room. Yes, two whole breasts, and two whole buttocks as clothes were going on and off. If you are going swimming, you have to accept that you will see more flesh than is usual. No one seems to question teenage girls preference for string bikinis that leave very little uncovered.

The hygiene of the water is no different as unless you shower and wear nothing that has been in contact with pool water, it is on your skin anyway. When I've gone to laned swimming sessions, it is normal to take a sealed plastic water bottle for hydration. I wouldn't feed a bottle of milk in a pool for the practical reason that I'd have to get out to get it, which removes the convenience factor. I'd botte feed a baby in a car, as that is practical, as a back seat passenger, I can reach and hold a bottle. I could not breastfeed in a moving car as there is no legal, and comfortable way I could lean my breast to baby while leaving it secured in the car seat. Comparisons of where you would breast and bottle feed are not always equal.

Since the story of feeding in the pool last year, I can't think of any reason against that people offer that can't be debunked.