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.

OP I'd have feed DS in the pool too but I feed him in yoga class too. Just think about all those yoga mats with the drops of milk. :)

Um, I feed my baby in the pool when were at swimming. And I did it in pool on holiday. Esp when dd is just getting used to swimming. No one in my classes seems to have a problem with it and others do it to. In fact the instructer said feel free.

No you should not feed in teh pool, it is yeuch. Get out and feed poolside.

That's great for you and that pool. This pool seems to have different rules, and a very polite lifeguard has asked op to sit out of the water, presumably in relation to the no eating or drinking or health & saftey.

It's literally not a big deal is it? If he said take your baby to the changing rooms and sit there yes by all means that's unacceptable.

I would not expect to feed a baby in the actual water of a pool, however, I can see no earthly reason why it would be a problem in a yoga class.

If no one not one person or one baby is allowed to eat or drink in a particular pool then there is no discrimination here.

The argument that you wouldn't be able to feed a bottle fed bottle in the pool is ridiculous. Bottle feeding is not the same as breast feeding. I'm also shocked by all the people saying 'yeugh' and things, it reveals some issues around breastfeeding I think.

Why is it "ridiculous" in this particular scenario?

Because not being able to bottle feed your baby somewhere doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to breastfeed there. To bottle feed safely you need access to hot water etc. Breastfeeding is more convenient and can be done virtually anywhere. Which isn't the same as should be done anywhere of course.

But you could have a bottle poolside.

I think if you can feed a baby in a pool, it's yes or no to all.

I don't see that's ridiculous, just a fair policy.

I appreciate there are differences between breast & bottle feeding, but I don't see where you are allowed to feed to be one of them.

If someone is stopped from feeding where a bottle is allowed there would be ructions (and rightly so)

I think we'll have to agree to disagree! Breast and bottle feeding don't need to be equal in that way IMO

I started my son at water babies at 11 weeks old. I did feed him in the pool for a couple of the lessons whilst we were waiting for our turn because he was getting tired.

My son consequently never cried in any of the lessons and seems to love the water! Other babies lost the plot and screamed their heads off.

My husband didn't approve as "no one else was doing it" but the instructor told us at the beginning that if we felt our babies needed it to go for it. I did what I thought was best.

Yeah I did that and they told us not to feed them for half an hour before, and not during the lessons.

I did wonder but ds was just constantly bewildered in lessons anyway. All that splash splishing.

But it wasn't about feeding him was it op has said that it was for comfort and at 15mo shouldn't there have been another way the op could have done thAt given where she was?

Breast feeding isn't always about the milk. Sometimes babies suck non-nutrivitely (if that's a word) to calm them down and reassure them that everything is OK.

My son won't take a dummy and there are times when he is feeding himself to sleep that he is sucking just to drift off. I let him do this as long as he wants as he is my PFB and it makes him relaxed to go to sleep. He is one of the happiest babies you could ever meet.

Not really as its a non issue as the child was fed at poolside?

The lifeguard didn't stop him being fed!

Maples, no need for a screaming baby if they are taken poolside to do it.

MainlyMaynie "Bottle feeding is not the same as breast feeding. I'm also shocked by all the people saying 'yeugh' and things, it reveals some issues around breastfeeding I think. "

How so? I use those SMA bottles that you just put a teat that comes in sterile packaging on, just as easy if it's sitting poolside.

Also just because I don't want to be swimming about in water with someone else's breast milk does not mean I have issues surrounding breastfeeding, I'm pretty pro-bfing actually, just not in this particular situation. Yes, get out the water, sit at poolside, strip down to nothing, just realise that others might have a problem with the possible/probable leaks.

"To bottle feed safely you need access to hot water etc" As said above, you do not need hot water.

It's interesting to gague people's presuppositions / guess what their children have been like.

IME with my DS, there was no other type of comfort I could offer which would have been comforting, other than bf. Yes, I could have cuddled him or whatever, but he would have continued screaming so loudly that none of the other children at the swimming lesson could hear the instructor.

To me, a cuddle seems to be the 'equivalent' to bf, but not to DS. That's only like the way my DH thinks that a quick hug in the kitchen at the end of the day is equivalent to a brief snuggle in bed. To him it seems like an equivalent, but it doesn't to me.

When DS was a bit older (about 2) we talked about the difference between being 'tummy hungry' which could be satisfied by food, and 'comfort hungry' which could be satisified by cuddles. When he asked for milk, I'd ask him if he was tummy hungry or comfort hungry. "I'm hungry for milk!" he'd reply. :)

We used to do (literally) 2 mins of swimming and then stop for milk; 2 mins of swimming then stop for milk. My way of gagueing how DS was coping better with swimming was to measure the intervals between the requests for milk reaching screaming point. He loves swimming now and doesn't ask at all during the lesson.

If people are worried about breastmilk in pools, perhaps we should just ban all breastfeeding mothers from going swimming, whether they are breastfeeding at the time or not, just inc ase they leak then?

For all those saying 'I wouldn't do it', well, that's fine, don't. I'm not sure why people assume the lifeguard must have asked the OP not to BF in the pool due to hygene/health and safety etc either. Perhaps he just got it wrong? Happens all the time in cafes, shops etc, where people are illegally asked not to breastfeed.

I do not get this at all. I don't have issues round breastfeeding I breastfed my DC's. But I wouldn't breastfeed in the pool. I wouldn't read a newspaper in a swimming pool. Doesn't mean I am anti reading newspapers. Can't see how people are failing to understand this. You don't feed a baby in the pool. You come out of the pool and feed the baby.

He only asked her to get out of the water, and go to the side.

Obviously we don't have the name of the leisure centre to check their policy, but if it's blanket policy on all human beings what is the issue?

I don't get it.

By all means if op was singled out yes that's not right.

Midori If he wasn't happy with her bfing at all then I am sure he would just have asked her to stop instead of asking her to do it poolside, that's still full view.

I (and I am sure many others) would just not take a child swimming if I knew they were going to scream constantly. What would be the point?