Breastfeeding in the swimming pool?

[AuntPepita]

Does anyone have any thoughts on this one?

I went swimming with DS (15mo) earlier and he was tired, grizzly and signing milk, so I fed him. The lifeguard eventually cottoned on and asked me to stop, so I did, but the more I think about it the more annoyed I am. Should I just suck (ha ha) it up, or make a fuss?

He was happy for me to feed at the poolside, just not in the pool.

He was perfectly polite, but I suspect knows nothing about the mechanics.

Being discreet does not equal 'breast are offensive'. They are in generally private and therefore a measure of discretion is tasteful IMO.

There are always people who don't want to be around breastfeeding, where ever you are. Don't like it? Tough! It's not harming you, don't look! Do you tell the lifeguard when there's wee in the pool? Enough wee to sting your eyes no less!

Breastmilk is the only bodily fluid that's not classed as a hazardous waste.

An adult eating in the pool can a. wait and b. make a mess. When breastfeeding the nipple is in the back of the babies mouth squirting it directly down their throat, it's not going to make a mess. And yes, a bottle (whatever is in it) has more chance to make a mess because it's going from a container and not being squirted straight down the throat.

Discretion is a person standard. I'm always discrete but not everyone would agree with me. Going back to my first paragraph, some people don't think it's discrete unless it's in another room.

I'll overlook being called a cow.

If it was a young lad (like they usually are at my pool), the idea of leakage probably wouldn't have occurred to him. I bet he was just thinking of safety by asking you to move to the side. The pool is really for swimming after all.

I 100% agree that breastmilk is like the least gross thing that I'd expect to find in a pool. What about scabs, tiny bits of poo etc!

We had a talk from water babies at baby group and they encouraged us to bf in the pool if baby got hungry. Why shouldn't you? If you think a public pool has no other bodily fluids floating around in it you are very naive! Swimming nappies are nothing but poo catchers after all. I would much rather do it discreetly in the pool than out of the water shivering at the poolside where everyone gets a much better view! Why is it so unsafe? I'm sure most mothers are more than capable of holding their baby above water when feeding just as they are when they are not?!

Yanbu op. perhaps write a letter to the pool asking for their reasoning behind this?

"An adult eating in the pool can a. wait and b. make a mess. When breastfeeding the nipple is in the back of the babies mouth squirting it directly down their throat, it's not going to make a mess. And yes, a bottle (whatever is in it) has more chance to make a mess because it's going from a container and not being squirted straight down the throat." Babies quite often pull off.

Just because there are other gross things in the pool does not make it okay to risk adding more to it. That's a very strange way to look at things.

I wouldn't feed in a normal pool, but I've often fed my now 2.7 y.o. on the gradual steps leading into the swimming pool (over the last year, so not a dissimilar age to you, OP). In fact, IIRC the swimming instructor suggested I sat partly in the water rather than completely out so that DS got used to being wet (he used to hate swimming, so he'd ask for milk literally every 60 seconds during lessons).

The pool does have those gradually sloping steps, though, which are wide and easy to sit on without causing a safety hazard. I'd sit so that DS's legs were in the water but the top half of him was out of it.

A not-currently-feeding-her-child mother of a young baby is far more likely to leak milk into the pool than a currently-feeding-her-toddler mother IME.

Technically, confuddled, it would only be discrete if it were in another room! Discreet, on the ther hand...

I take your point, lots of wee etc in the pool, but there shouldn't be, and if it were a visible thing then I would expect the lifeguard to ask the culprit to desist from that also! I would be shocked if I saw someone weeing in the pool! I know it's not the same thing but I know I leaked milk from the other breast when I was feeding, even at 13 months. And they are both bodily fluids- just because people get away with weeing in the pool doesn't make it ok!

Disclaimer- I'm not a BF hater, i BF DD until she self weaned at 13 months and fully plan on feeding DC2 until self weaned.

Confuddled - I'm pretty sure that's an urban myth about it being the pee that stings your eyes rather than the chlorine. Also see the urban myth about some pools having a magic chemical which makes your wee go instantly blue

Terry You worded it so much better than me. :)

I'd be a bit worried that my baby would throw it back up into the pool or do one of her horrendous exploding poos during or straight after the feed, but then I guess that is less likely with an older baby.

I'm having problems typing on someone else's laptop, I'm surprised it's all that went wrong lol. Doesn't need to be visible, your eyes stinging means you've got wee in them. Baby in a nappy has weed in the pool, majority of children will wee in the pool, as they get older not everyone stops.

Breastfeeding is not gross. I'm ignoring the restof that post because that just made it not worth my time.

When did I say that breast feeding was gross? I don't think that but I also don't want to be swimming about in someone else's milk!

I don't have a problem at all with women breastfeeding, doesn't mean I want to be in a pool with them doing it and risking spraying into the pool.

And the fact infections, drugs etc can be passed through milk means it's not as clean as you would like to make out.

I know this isn't AIBU but why would a 15 month old need to be bf when you have chosen a time to take him swimming?

I am currently breastfeeding my 3rd child, and have never when taking any of them swimming alone or together had to bf one of them when swimming!

Chlorine is so strong that if it stung your eyes it would do more damage than just sting - believe me, my brother is a lifeguard I've seen the damage it's done to him at times, we have friend who's a lifeguard too who knows how much that stuff can burn. It's not myth.

At 15 months I wouldn't be worried about my baby coming off, sicking up or having an explosive poo after a feed.

Why didn't you just get out? It genuinely wouldn't have occurred to me to breastfeed while actually in the pool? It's the same principle as breast feeding in the bath at home, no harm in it, but why would you? Hardly worth making an issue if, tbh.

But that doesn't mean that would be the same with others Maples.

I really am confused about why you would bf in a swimming pool!

When I have been at work all day all he wants is mummy milk.

Definitely no leaking or spraying at 15mo. Nor pooing or sticking after feeds.

He's 15 months not 15 weeks!

confuddled - it is the chlorine that makes your eyes sting! Do you have anything to back up this bizarre claim that it is the wee? Afaik it is an urban myth!

Floggingmolly, loads of people breastfeed in the bath at home, it can in fact, be a great place to encourage a reluctant baby to latch.

I agree with confuddled.

I might breastfeed in a pool for all sorts of reasons and I wouldn't worry at all about leaking at 15 months. If people were worried about leaking, surely a Mum sat on the side of the pool is just as likely to leak/squirt either onto themselves or into the pool, unless of course they are supposed to shower before getting back in...