Shared disability toilets with baby changing facilities

[MobilityCat]

Yesterday, I found myself in an embarrassing and upsetting situation when I crapped myself while waiting outside the disabled toilet. A mum was inside, chatting and cooing to her baby while changing its nappy. While I completely understand that she needed a suitable place to change her baby, I couldn’t help but wonder: why does it have to be in the one facility specifically designed for the disabled? Why can't the baby changing facilities be located in the women's toilet or have a separate dedicated room for this purpose?

Do you know she wasn't disabled?

I have a disabled child who was in nappies untill 9/10 so I do understand but I think it's the venue whose at fault here they should have two separate facilities.

I think it was a shared baby changing and disabled bathroom - or that’s what I took from OP?

That can’t have been nice for you OP.

Space? Allows for unisex access rather than the presumption that only mums change nappies and therefore it must be in the ladies?

It sucks but it’s no different to if someone else was already there before you. Cooing whilst changing a baby’s nappy is no different to someone else who is disabled using the toilet.

Also, hope you’re ok. I had a disability a long time ago that sometimes left me covered in poo. It’s horrific and upsetting so hope you got yourself sorted ok.

I'm not sure what the relevance of chatting and cooing is but you are not wrong these spaces should be separate.

A baby change that is separate from the accessible toilet would also be unisex

I guess for some places space is the issue. It needs to be in a place accessible by men and women, so in the women's toilets won't work, and if they don't have space for a dedicated changing room then I can see why they want to make the disabled toilet multipurpose as they usually are quite spacious and open to both sexes. It's a bit problematic as changing a baby can take some time, and if disabled people need to use the toilet urgently it's not ideal. But that could also be the situation if another disabled person was using the toilet at the time.

I'm sorry you had that experience though, it sounds awful.

That’s assuming there is space for another room. There isn’t always space to add another room in.

I’d be upset about that too OP 💐

@YellowDiamondsInTheSky

That’s assuming there is space for another room. There isn’t always space to add another room in.

The conversation is 'should they be separate?' - the answer is 'yes'

There are plenty of examples where they could be separate but are not, obviously that isn't across the board, but equally that's not an excuse for the majority.

Yes. Disabled people have babies too.

If it's somewhere with a high traffic of people especially kids it absolutely should be separate. It was just unlucky someone was in front of you, if it was another disabled person it would have been the same issue. I guess people with disabilities have to wait their turn same as anyone else. However I imagine it's particularly stressful waiting for a nappy change when in theory the changing area could have been anywhere else. I'm sorry that happened, it must have been very difficult and embarrassing

Sorry that happened to you. I do agree with shared spaces for babies/disability facilities however as they are a lesser percentage of the general population when space is at a premium. Although no reason why there can't be at least two loos that are for babies/those with disabilities rather than the ubiquitous single one.

Yes I think there should be a rule that if it's got a changing table in there need to be two as it probably doubles the number of people who might need it

I thought the conversation was “why aren’t they?”… That’s what the OP appears to ask anyway and that’s the question I was answering.

Because she was taking her time. It wasn’t a quick nappy change.

I think the poster before me thought it was a mum using a disabled toilet to change nappies not that it was a shared space that was designated both a disabled bathroom and baby changing space.

I called out asking if she would be long and she said that she had to finish changing her baby

I know people complain about having them only in women's but I agree why not have two, one in women's and one in disabled. It's only a wall mounted table it doesn't even cost much to put one in.

Ffs that really isn’t the point of the thread and you know it.

And the men's?

How do you know she wasn't disabled and hadn't gone for a wee first?

I would have been furious if she didn’t hurry up after the first notification you were waiting.

Ok 3 then!

She was taking her own sweet time about it