Asked to breastfeed in a more discreet place

[Babynonamee]

I'm fairly sure I'm not being unreasonable but I'd be interested to know what other people think.

Today I went to a local swimming centre. My DH and DS1 were swimming and I was watching them from a bench (newborn was in the carseat and not swimming but just 'watching')

I was in a one piece swimming costume.

Newborn started crying as he was hungry, so I took him out his car seat, covered us both with a towel and cracked on with breastfeeding him.

I was not breastfeeding in the water I would think this perhaps would be inappropriate! But I was simply feeding on a bench next to the poolside.

Perhaps the fact I was in a swim suit made breastfeeding in public offensive?

The outcome was actually I pointed out I was fully covered. The life guard spoke with someone who looked like a manager, who appeared from a distance to dismiss the situation and nothing more was said. Baby stopped feeding at this point and so I put him back in the car seat.

*or she has been let down.

Asking her to move from the place she wanted to be in to a different place would count as preventing her, yes.

The person who asked you to move was breaking the law. You can bf where you damn well please.

Err, it sounds like the manager dealt with it correctly. I doubt the lifeguard will do this again. End of...

What your problem?

The problem is that it's likely there is a systemic failure to provide correct training on this matter to people who work in this leisure centre. Good organisations welcome customer feedback when they get something wrong, because it helps them to improve.

The lifeguard was wrong. This has been debated and resolved in the mothers favour before - in Manchester I believe at the commonwealth games pool. You were in the right and should not worry about breast feeding your baby, its a beautiful and wonderful thing. :)

Here:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-23731816

No, preventing is telling her she cannot bf there. Asking her to move somewhere more private, whilst I agree is wrong, is not really the same thing.
I totally agree that the OP is in the right and the lifeguard is a twat, but people saying he is harrassing her or should get arrested are over reacting.

Whenever threads like this come up, I think of this:
www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=%23&ved=0ahUKEwja_9GKzavbAhULyKQKHf9gAOAQwqsBCFEwDA&usg=AOvVaw0VTJzWxrN8ZFOD4xbU2nov

Agree with PP - I doubt lifeguard will make this mistake again.

Complain OP so they can ensure their staff know the rules in regards to BF.

i wonder how many employees have had training on the law.
It is easy to knock the lifeguard but he clearly didn't know. I don't know the and and outs why he didn't know.
I work with families and children for a large local authority and not one bit of this legislation has been passed down to us. I only know because of MN.

Does anyone really think a life quard would be arrested and charged because he asked a mum to go somewhere more discreet? If so I would be furious because it would be a waste of tax payers money to crimalise someone over.
However I suspect there would be certain parts of the population who would rub their hands in glee!
Personally I think education around breast feeding is the answer rather than knee jerk reactions and people being up in arms about every single mistake someone makes.

You're wrong, iwannaseehowthisends. For years women have been asked to "move somewhere more private" (usually the toilets!) and this is not acceptable. No one has any business to interfere with the bfing of an infant who is in a location the baby is allowed to be in.

Cooldad sometimes it takes there to be a law about something to change people's attitudes and make them take something seriously.

One extra sentence added during induction training for people working in public spaces should do it. This particular lifeguard presumably knows now, and may be horribly embarrassed by his mistake, but others won't. It's a very simple, undramatic thing to fix.

Asking her to move somewhere more private, whilst I agree is wrong

Surely it depends how she was asked? I'd have objected to 'you can't bf here, you need to go to that room over there' but not to 'if you would prefer it we have a room that you can use to bf'

Cooldad sometimes it takes there to be a law about something to change people's attitudes and make them take something seriously

Agreed.
We are still waiting that training!

Asking her to move somewhere more private, whilst I agree is wrong

Surely it depends how she was asked? I'd have objected to 'you can't bf here, you need to go to that room over there' but not to 'if you would prefer it we have a room that you can use to bf'

I agree, of course context is everything.
We don't know but if the lifeguard is anything like the ones at our centre he would be very young and a bit awkward! Our life quards are either at college and doing casual hours or just left college waiting to for their dream PT job to become the next Joe Wicks!

In Scotland the law is clear.

Management have the responsibility to train on such issues. If management fails then they are criminally responsible.

I am sick to bloody death of women being given any kind of shit at all for breastfeeding.

Sorry you had to go through that OP, and no, ywnbu.

No you were not being offensive in any way! Even if you hadn't bothered to cover up (I wouldn't have bothered)!
You're feeding your child. Not putting on bloody nipple tassels and waving them around.

And yes your legally within your right to feed wherever you want and however you like.

No where is ever an offensive place to breastfeed

Breastfeeding is never an offensive thing

💓💖💗

The lifeguard should have apologised for his mistake - this makes me so angry! How dare someone make you feel ashamed or like you have to hide because you want to breastfeed your baby. Fine, the manager corrected him, but he made a mistake and made you feel bad and he should’ve apologised. I would get in touch with them to explain what happened and encourage training. This is the sort of shit that puts less confident, first time mothers off breastfeeding, being publicly embarrassed.

Management have the responsibility to train on such issues. If management fails then they are criminally responsible.

Maybe the training was heavily focused on preventing drowning?

I'd guess that there are a lot of competing issues for the 'cultural sensitivity' training chapter, e.g. how to enforce male v female dress codes and the like.

The manager handled it, move on.

RoadToRivendell but people who work with the public should be given training on issues of discrimination.

And in Scotland it doesn't matter if management see fit to neglect training on these issues.
They are still responsible.

YANBU. You weren't just showing off the girls, you were discreetly breastfeeding your newborn in an appropriate and considerate manner (to the baby and the more sensitive viewers in the audience).