Claridges Breastfeeding Policy

[ifgrandmahadawilly]

Aibu in posting this here, in the hopes that the people of mumsnet let Claridges know how unreasonable they are being?

www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/11267989/Mother-forced-to-cover-up-with-large-napkin-while-breastfeeding-at-Claridges.html

Porto fino - Claridges have breached the Equality Act by being discriminatory towards a breastfeeding woman. So yes they should be prosecuted.

JohnCusacksWife I simply CBA to live my life taking on board everyone around me's foibles and sensibilities, imagined or real, though. How draining and pointless.

Then again, I have never seen this in your face/indiscreet/offensive breastfeeding in a public space either.

Actually even when I've been around my own friends BF their own babies in their own home I've never got a good eyeful of their breasts either.

I wonder why?

has any establishment ever been successfully prosecuted?

I'd have thought it was a hard one to prove

BF mother: 'they told me to leave'

restaurant: 'no we didn't'

chunder it seems these people are willing to accept discreet breastfeeding- that's their concession. Otherwise we can feed in the toilet, or better still stay at home until this disgusting time has passed.

Oh wait- that's no concessiopn at all is it?

Forgive me, gentle reader, for I have only just returned to the UK after living abroad for 23 years and am still coming to terms with how people here can become so easily outraged and angry at non-events. I'm also amazed at the amount of column inches that non-events can generate in print and online media.

Demanding that Claridges be prosecuted, its managers fired and those who agree with their policy be sent to live in Saudi Arabia is, if I may be so bold, a slightly over the top response to the situation.

If the victim in this case was so 'humiliated' (their word) by the incident, why did they publish the account on twitter - together with before and after photos? Note the difference in smiles between the two photos. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words and to paraphrase Shakespeare, I think the alleged victim doth protest too much...

You know, on the US they have considerate and er...discrete* tents for ladies to use. There are no limits to what is expected of women to protect others' delicate sensibilities.

*intentional

I think some people are really missing the point here; the Equality Act states that no-one is allowed to be discriminatory towards a breastfeeding woman. If you breastfeed and chose to do so whilst covering yourself and your baby with a napkin, then that's your choice (and obviously you're entitled to do that). Same as women who don't want to use a napkin have a choice to do just that. The law protects you to breastfeed who you want to breastfeed, not how other people think you should breastfeed.

I am just imagining what my toddler would do if I tried to feed him under a napkin. It would be like watching someone trying to put a cat in a bag.

Explorer we still have a policy in the UK of prosecuting people and organisations who break the law.

But leedy, didn't you know you're not supposed to breastfeed a toddler?!

Ah, that's because I've moved on to the Militant Breastfeeding Agenda, Volume 2. By the time we've finished, everyone will be breastfeeding toddlers. Including men.

There's an Agenda? I want a copy!

Yes, obviously complaining about it on Twitter means she cannot possibly have felt bad or humiliated about it in any way ever. And smiling in the photos definitely means she's a liar, because as we all know, if you ever feel bad about anything that means you never smile again.

I hope we do have a legal case over this issue soon and then maybe businesses will stop being such arses over this issue!

Five children, ten years bfeeding and none of mine would ever have fed under a cover. As I have large breasts and had fussy/distractable babies people may well have got a flash of boob occasionally! Not much I could do about it!

Bollocks to expressing or feeding at home, I have a life, things to do, places to be and where I went so did baby!

Once I was asked in a department store to go sit 'behind a curtain or something' I Saud no thanks I am fine here, that was the end of the conversation!

I would have escalate this to the press if it had happened to me too.

And no I would not have been distressed. or crying, - furious and angry,but I would feel motivated to stand up for my own and other mother's rights.

I've never actually seen anyone breastfeed in public, it must be happening around me but I've never once noticed.

This is a ridiculous argument really. Surely it's up to mother and baby whether they breastfeed or not and HOW they do it should also be left for them to decide and work out between themselves.

Have the people on here claiming to be offended or put off their cup of tea by the thought of breastfeeding mother ever confronted them and asked them to refrain from doing so?

It's a 2 way street isn't it? I want to be left alone and allowed to feed in peace without being the centre of attention (good or bad). So I make the whole thing as discreet as I can within the realms of reasonableness i.e. NOT under a blanket/napkin/muslin. Why is that apparently so difficult for some people on both sides of the argument to accept?

Oh this makes me soooooo

I am more shocked by the responses than the story

For all you saying women should be discrete cover up, be sensitive, DONT GO OUT until you are no longer bf

1. This is part of the reason women struggle to breastfeed at all, people afraid to feed in public = declining experience of bf for new mums = many women lack support and struggle

1. Some of us bf for longer than a few months, are we meant to stay indoors all that time?

1. This is just another way of keeping women out of the public realm, at home longer, out of the workplace and society....haven't we moved on from the 1950s?

1. Forcing certain sections of society to be out of sight ... Hmm... Replace bf women with black people or gay people and perhaps you can understand why it is so disgustingly offensive and morally wrong to ask a woman to cover up or go into a different room. Hence why the law is as it is.

I'm also really disappointed because the tarte tatin is so delicious but I don't think I can ever go back after this.

I am so sad my breastfeeding years are over. I would SOO be on for a toddler 'feed in' in Claridges.

What a sad thread. Hard to believe that we all we know that htis is still the case.

And I wonder if someone reading page 3 in Claridges would be asked to do so under a napkin.

Utterly ridiculous. She breast fed. So!!! What a fuss about absolutely nothing.

The law protecting women should be used. They should be prosecuted as an example.

My mother said she basically planned her outings around feeds and if we happened to be caught short, we'd have a bottle of formula. I prefer formula, you can't eat certain foods or even so much as a glass of wine while breastfeeding. My grandmother was the same, her breasts are hers and she wanted to enjoy outings with her husband by having a glass of wine and not harming my mum and uncle. Formula is fine, and just as good, has all the same nutrients. a bottle of formula while out is not going to harm your baby.
I've had this conversation with a lot of women in my family and in my circle and we've all managed to agree - yes all women have the right to breastfeed, no we don't want to see it. we've seen women with it all hanging out, and then get mad when they're told to cover up! people don't know where to look as they don't want to embarrass mum, and they don't want to embarrass themselves! yes some babies do rip muselin off, but plan your outings around feeds. It's not hard. yes some women can't express, so a bottle of formula isn't going to hurt anyone!

Oh ffs.
Yes breasts are also sexual, but it's only adults who see sex in breasts.

If you are adult enough to think sexy thoughts you are adult enough to look away and deal with it.

I'm sorry but hungry child trumps an adults unreasonable discomfort every single time

This is why bf rates in this country are so poor, women are too afraid of being judged.

fwiw I have fed DS now for 2.7 years, I have only ever had one "tut" and I feed everywhere.

I literally can not get my head around grown adults who can't separate sex and feeding babies.

We live in a world where "sexualised" breasts are on every fucking poster, tabloid and magazine, but using them for the thing nature intended is "disgusting".

Who said you shouldnt go out if you're bf-ing? Dont think anyone here's said that, have they??

Oh and I have never seen a bfing woman with it "all hanging out", a brief flash of nipple maybe, not the same thing at all!

And using formula when you go out is counter productive to bfing successfully.

Also why shouldn't a bfing mother go about her daily business, it's a feeding child not a sex show.....if you don't like it, go away!