Breastfeeding and Exams

[oopsandbabycoconuts]

Just need to rant...

I am due to write an exam in a few weeks time with the OU and have asked for a defferral as my DD2 is only 17weeks and exlusively BF. The exam venue is over an hour away and the exam is 3 hours long. They have refused as there is no exemption for BF, I was not asking for an exemption just an oportunity to take my exam and still be able to feed DD2. SO now I face missing the exam totally and wasting my £500, before anyone suggests I express and feed her that is just not working at the moment I can express no more than an 1 or maybe 2 at the most and when it is frozen it smell horribly fishy and tastes revolting (I have frozen itand tasted it!) Formula is not an option as we have serious allergies, excema(sp?) and asthma between DH and I so have been advised by the allergy clinic to stick to exclusive BF until weaning. I have also never left my DD for longer than 20mins at the most so would turn up to the exam in a state worrying about DD2

AARRRGGGHHH.

They should help you. Could you have bf breaks in the exam if someone could look after your baby near the exam room. An OU person could check you weren't reading your notes.

Would a doctors note help - also for you as engorgement can lead to mastitis

I am going to speak to my health visitor to see if she can write me a note also one from our NCT BF advisor about engorgement.

I just feel so carp that all my hard work would be down the drain because of this. I wouldn't be allowed extra time if DD fed during the exam so wold never finish the paper.

Is there any chance at all anyone can come with you to look after her while you're in the exam? It's too long for her not to be fed but if you can get a break from the exam it may help (see below).

Do you have a lactating friend you trust who can feed her while you're not there? (The risks are transmition of HIV, Hep and Syphilis but if you trust them, this may be an option). You may think ewwww, or you may not - it works for some.

However I would be writing back to the OU about this. I think there must be provision for it somehow. You should be able, for instance, to have a break in the middle of the exam to feed her in another room with a supervisor to ensure you've not written answers on her nappy or something .

Keep on pushing. I'm sure they will find a solution.

This might help:

www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1746-4358-1-27.pdf

I would agree that your baby shouldn't be allowed into the examination room. However being given support to leave the room (with an examiner) and breastfeed halfway through should be acceptable.

If you can't have anyone look after her while you're in the exam, though, and the only option is to take her in, I don't think that's fair on the other candidates. If you were bottle feeding it would be the same.

bf isn't a disability but the ou gives rest breaks & extra time to conditions that require it www.open.ac.uk/disability/tell-us-what-you-need-for-examinations.php

engorgement would prevent you from concentrating & leaking would be uncomfortable. Plus risks to your health of mastitis

I'm shocked the ou doesn't support bf

OK I just read that you want to defer the exam, not feed in the exam, sorry. OK, well in that case as above, the HV letter saying about the health problems to you of not feeding.

My 3 month old wouldn't go 3 hours without a feed as well. Clearly it's both of you who are going to suffer... so keep going at it!

How long will she go between feeds? Could you not time the feed before the exam starts and have someone you trust take care of her nearby during the exam?

Re: the EBM- how are you storing it? It shouldn't taste/smell fishy but could it be taking on the small of something else in the freezer? If you could express a few times in the run up to the exam you might be able to get a feed together. That's if your DD tkes a bottle.

It's a difficult one isn't it? Definitely write and ask for further support. Could this come under discrimination?

Supercherry, under the new Equality Act 2010, in force tomorrow (1 October) quite possibly.

I'm not an expert but I believe maternity is a prohibited ground of discrimination under the Act and education is one of the areas where you are not permitted to discriminate. Failing to allow students to bf sounds suspiciously discriminatory to me.

Oops - may be worth you flagging it up in your response to the OU.

Thanks everyone. Have spoken to a different person at the OU and they say I need to send an appeal to the governing body in Milton Keynes and they will decide. Their decision is final and after that no further discussion will be had. Will just have to write and Hope they agree with me and the HV.

good luck - hope it goes well for you & dd.

i had this issue with my uni, but they were incredibly supportive. i missed the exam due to being in hospital with complications then having the baby. i was allowed to miss the resit (and not be penalised) as baby was exclusively bf at the time and certainly wouldn't go 3 hours without a feed. leaky engorged boobs dont help with concentration! i wrote a fairly graphic statement to that effect in my appeal for mitigation and they accepted it.
shame on the OU i say

Good luck postponing your exam.

Your frozen milk issue sounds like it might be due to excess lipids in your milk. Kellymom article
If it is, scalding the milk before freezing it might help. Just in case you need/want to store milk for future use. :)

I've never had the issue of Bfing come up with a student, but we regularly provide separate rooms for students with a huge range of disabilities. Not saying in any way that BFing is a disability :) but that it's standard practice to find a separate room for a student, and to provide someone to supervise the exam. I'd say probably 5-10% of the students who sit each exam need separate rooms for extra time, a scribe, to use a computer instead of typing, or because of health issues. The OU will not want to defer the exam as it means creating an extra exam paper, which is a huge faff, especially if you're in your final year as it will have to go out to the external examiners for confirmation.

Could the OU provide you a room of your own? That way you could have a pal/DP hovering outside who could bring in DC as and when needed and you'll get privacy to feed while you write/ponder your essay answer.

I knew someone who sat her PhD oral exam under exactly those conditions. The baby got fed and she got her PhD.

If you need help writing your appeals letter, there are lots of academics on here that could help write it in the best way to get the attention of the academics on the appeals committee.

Best of luck. Could you ask to take the exam at home and be supervised?

Probs not at the staff wouldn't be insured in your home. Plus you might have written the answers under the bathmat!

as not at...

good luck!

Can you not take someone with, BF your DD immediately before, and get them to take her on a nice long walk hopefully so she sleeps for most of the time.

If she wakes up & is hungry then either have some expressed milk if you manage to get that to work or even water would keep her going for a bit. Or ask GP for a (private) prescription for neocate? How long does she usually go without feds?