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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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:

OwlCapone · 29/05/2014 07:49

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.

Firstly, it's very unlikely and secondly, you just pick the baby back up again. They have a very good dive reflex and will just be startled at most.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 08:01

YABU.

If my dc were desperate for a feed I would feed in that way. Especially if I had other dcs in the pool.
It would be miserably cold to completely merge from the water.
Sometimes bf babies will feed for comfort as well as nutrition so it'snot really like getting a picnic out in the training pool.

So she wasn't covered in any way
"woman in pool not fully dressed shock!*

You're no mo likely to drop a feeding baby than a non feeding baby.
Ppl are just clutching at straws to find an excuse to criticise public feeding.
And anyway, I used to pay £50 a session to drop my babies in the pool.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 08:06

And yes mrsMook the comparison thing is interesting. I've certainly used a bottle to feed in the car and wouldn't dream of bf in that situation.
I've expressed while in the passenger seat before though

Catsize · 29/05/2014 08:21

salty, I am sorry but your para 3 was laughable. Of course she could have supervised other children, and I agree with what owl said. I am beginning to question the advice you are giving women! But then, I have been dunking my kids in the water since they were a few weeks old.
My two year old can now swim without armbands etc. Whatever the risks of the scary pool water, that benefit outweighed them I am afraid.

Softlysoftlycatchymonkey · 29/05/2014 08:22

therealamanda - you were ripped off!

they have a good dive reflex.... oh that made me laugh. I'm the many years of swimming teaching/coaching - that I'm yet to see!

salty I agree.

SquirrelledAway · 29/05/2014 08:24

Interesting one. If a person vomits in the pool the minimum response is usually clearing the pool whilst vomit is removed. Our local pool is very conservative and we usually have a 12 or 24 hour closure pool whilst the water is cycled through.

Would the pool have to be closed if a baby regurgitates into the water? If it was our pool, the answer would be yes. And I'd be bloody furious if I had to spend hours sorting out canceling lessons and refunding customers.

Catsize · 29/05/2014 08:26

Really softly? You've never seen it?? What a shame! Either you're not teaching babies, or your teaching techniques need a bit of revision.

OwlCapone · 29/05/2014 08:38

Gosh, I wonder why my babies automatically held their breath when underwater? Perhaps they are half fish.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 08:45

It is not possible for a credible teacher of infant swimming to be unaware of the dive reflex. It's usually present until between 12 and 18 months.

And of course I was ripped off. I'm a middle aged mummy living in London. That is my purpose in life.

mrstigs · 29/05/2014 08:46

I've bf at the side of the pool, I'm pretty sure I have anyway, although it wasn't an event that stuck in my mind as significant at the time. Just hungry whiny baby - quick feed - happy baby and more time to let the older kids play in the pool. I doubt anyone saw more than you would with some people's swimwear. You certainly wouldn't see more than you would had I bf in the cafe or a bench outside or my own sofa anyway so why is it more indecent in one location than another?

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 08:48

The baby is no more likely to vomit than a child who was fed up to 45 minutes before swimming.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 08:49

And omg the amount of snot and wee in the pool, IMO not bothered by a tiny bit of baby spew, especially with all that chlorine.

Namelessonsie · 29/05/2014 08:52

Can't supervise children while concentrating on a feed? Really? And you're a peer supporter! I wonder if you're the incredibly unhelpful peer supporter I encountered in hospital after dd1 while struggling with a tongue tie that everyone said she didn't have.

I have fed dd2 while actually clambering through soft plat tunnels, while on the phone to the tax office, and during a return to work interview. Breastfeeding does not mean you can't do anything else at the same time ffs. Using a good sling means you can even feed hands free when they are a bit older.

Utter crap.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 08:59

It's ridiculous to uggest you can't supervise other d s if you are feeding.
If you take 2 dcs to the pool, you're always busy helping one or both of them.
How many Lifeguards are there at a municipal pool? One for every non swimmer?
Pffft!

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 09:03

And here we are witnessing a stream of free floating complaints bout bf in public, under the guise of "legitimate concerns"
No wonder we needed a law passed to allow babies to be fed in public with actual human milk.

Namelessonsie · 29/05/2014 09:06

Yes, what it boils down to is that some people don't like to see breastfeeding - think its shameful somehow, and so everyone breastfeeding should do so in such a way as to disguise what they are doing.

And then make up "legitimate" reasons why the breastfeeding should be hidden away.

MollyBdenum · 29/05/2014 09:07

I fail to understand how a baby being breastfed is any less securely held than a baby not being breastfed.

Messygirl · 29/05/2014 09:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

frasersmummy · 29/05/2014 09:09

there is no eating or drinking in the pool ... bottled milk is considered drinking and not allowed.. therefore breastfeeding shouldnt be allowed..

That said it should be allowed at the side of the pool

yes I know the law says you can breastfeed where ever you want but just because you can doesnt necessarily mean you should

Namelessonsie · 29/05/2014 09:11

And again, you shouldn't compare formula feeding and breastfeeding as if they are equal. Formula is not allowed before operations, is discouraged during d&v bouts. Breastmilk is considered "clear liquids" for these and actually encouraged.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 09:15

just because you can doesn't neccessarily mean you should
It means you can. And it means that ppl can't ask you not to.

In the OP.
I carried on as though nothing was wrong
Because nothing was wrong, one presumes. So well done.

But mentioned it to the lifeguard as I walked ou
So in fact you didn't carry on as though nothing was wrong, even though nothing was wrong.

Of course she was upset at being asked to leave. It was an inappropriate use of a lifeguards time and it was unfair to ask her to stop feeding. Bf isn't always just about "food"
I would not have left. I'd like to see how they manage that tbh.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 09:18

Bf is not the same as ff as has already been explained by nameless
Besides, the complaint here relates to the bf woman's "indiscretion" (so actually using her breasts to breastfeed I suppose) rather than the act of giving food.

SaltySeaBird · 29/05/2014 09:33

I'm sorry you had an unhelpful peer supporter Namelessonsie. Most of us try our best to be very helpful and supportive. We're not allowed to diagnose a tongue tie ourselves but can recommend a baby is checked for one if there are feeding difficulties. Don't forget we are volunteers, not paid medical professionals. Just mothers trying to help other mothers.

I've never said you shouldn't feed in public or at the swimming pool. I PERSONALLY don't feel that IN the pool is the best place to do it. I acknowledge you can, our laws around breastfeeding are excellent and needed. But just because you can feed everywhere, doesn't mean that everywhere is the best place to do so.

My daughter used to get hungry in the supermarket. Legally I could have whipped my top off and sat in the middle of the aisle to feed her. Instead I used to go and sit in the cafe for a few moments (without buying anything, they were fine about it). Just because you can do something doesn't mean that it's the best option. Just because somebody has personal opinions about where the best place in the surrounding area is to feed a baby doesn't mean they are anti-breastfeeding or anti-public breastfeeding. Personally I chose not to feed in the water, I fed at the side.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 09:36

It might not be the best option for you personally to feed in the supermarket aisle. But that doesn't mean it isn't the best option for one one else. And it doesn't make it ok for ppl to ask someone to stop bf in the supermarket aisle or at th side of the pool.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 29/05/2014 09:39

And sitting in the aisle isn't a good idea because it obstructs the gangway. I've fed my dd while walking around in a shop/ church/ airport though.
But this mother was sitting on the steps of the pool. Unless she was so large as to fill the entire area, which hasn't been mentioned so if it's raised now would be a world record drip feed, it's really not a useful comparison

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