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.

No Viviennemary, you might not feed your baby in the pool, but clearly some people do. Just because you don't want to do it it doesn't mean no one else can/should.

This is the point, he wasn't trying to stop her.

He was asking her to do it more safely, what other motivation would he have?

Well, we don't know why he asked the OP not to BF in the pool, do we? There could be all number of reasons. Do you think we should ban all BFing women from pools, seeing as you are so worried about leaking breastmilk?

I'm sure the OP has her own reasons for taking her DS swimming.

I'm not worried about breastmilk. Not everyone that disagrees with you is an anti breastfeeding maniac.

Why would I be worried about breastmilk?

No I don't but someone in the pool that is a bfer but isn't actually bfing wouldn't have their breast(s) out, would they? Most of anything leaked would be caught by the swimsuit.

What other reason would he have had to ask her to leave? He didn't ask her to go out of view so obviously not a problem with seeing her feeding.

Pickles Yeah, I'm totally an anti-bfing maniac.

Pickles, SchrodingersMew has said several times she is worried about breastmilk.

I'm a bit that anyone would think that breastmilk would be caught in a swimsuit that was in the pool, you know, wet with pool water.... I don't know about you, but when my toddler breastfeeds, she generally likes to make sure she drinks the milk, not get it all over, she's not daft enough to waste a drop!

So she never pulls away, even for a look about or been distracted? Never manages to leak any?

No I wouldn't feed the baby in the pool either. Do you want it to get a mouthful of chlorinated water that hundreds of people and been peeing swimming in? Yuk.

And not once did I say I was "worried about breastmilk", I said I don't want to be swimming in it, not that it worries me. I think exactly the same about it as I do any other bodily fluid.

And what "ILove" said, that has been brought up a few times.

Why would you risk them getting a mouthful of chlorinated water? Why not go out and have a wash first, all these people saying about the piss etc in the pool so what difference would it make, why be happy for your child to feed from you while you are covered in that water?

Actually tbh, that makes me feel yuk towards it far more than the leaking.

Ok midori, I just can really understand the rationale behind this. Im not saying I'd have a problem if I saw someone feeding in a pool, however I can fully understand if a pool has a no feeding policy, as long as its not discriminatory.

I would feel a lot safer to sit at the side (with my legs dangling in) or on a step at the side.

i wouldnt have any issues with another mum bf in a pool but i wouldnt im far to ickky about the water. not leaks or anything like that just water people have been in being splashed in babys mouth so i would probally go poolside and dry boobs first.

weird i know seen as water goes in mouths anyway

The lifeguard sounds very sensible. He probably asked her to leave because she was clearly a weirdo. Does anyone actually do this in real life ?

There is NO reason why you'd have to breastfeed a TODDLER in a swimming pool unless you are trying to prove some kind of bizarre point. This thread is actually making me giggle now .

Maybe from a safety point of view, in which case he should have explained to you. But you should be able to bf in public without being asked to leave, just throw the Equalities Act or Sex Discrimination Act at home next time

She wasn't prevented from feeding in public.

The fact is, and you know it, breastmilk is just as likely to get into the water from any BFing woman who is swimming in the pool. And yes, my daughter does pull off, but she's not daft enough to waste milk when she does it and the days of milk just spraying out are very long gone. You might not want to swim in water with breastmilk in it, but unless we ban all women who are breastfeeding from swimming pools, then you can't guarantee there's no breastmilk in it, can you?

Babies/toddlers/children open their mouths and swallow water all the time in pools, I wouldn't choose not to breastfeed in a pool based on the fact that there might be a bit of pool water on my boobs.

The pool is question may well have a policy that says no breastfeeding in the pool for good reason, but just as equally, the lifeguard may have asked the woman to get out based on a misconception or any other reason really. We just don't know because he doesn't appear to have given the OP a reason.

There is NO reason why you'd have to breastfeed a TODDLER in a swimming pool unless you are trying to prove some kind of bizarre point

Going by your reasoning, there's no reason to feed a toddler anywhere in public, surely? But they need feeding (or comforting or whatever) so you feed them. Maybe it's as simple as the OP was in the pool and couldn't be arsed to get out and feed when she didn't see a reason not to feed where she was? If I were to BF in a pool, that would certainly be my reason.

Anyway, surely the age of the child is irrelevant here? If it's ok to BF a tiny baby in a pool, then surely it must also be OK to BF a toddler?

It still doesn't seem right. And I don't have a problem with bfing pretty much anywhere else.

Midori that poster must be on the wind up surely?

I like the bit about the toddler signing for his milk. Aren't most mumsnet babies talking by this age. He should be making his demands known verbally.

I fed poolside today. Wouldn't feed in the pool, partly as trying to keep eye on two other DCs, but I was happy enough poolside

And someone up thread did make a very valid point about no one else being allowed to eat in the pool, so why should baby?

I agree maples.

I don't think the age of the child should be made an issue of as it's not relevant really.

In fact, I would feel a little bit better feeding an older child in the pool than a tiny baby, I would feel a bit safer. (if they fell)

Not a wind-up. I just find the whole idea so very, very bizarre. I can understand a newborn needing to feed right-here, right-now but surely you'd just get out (if you were the type of parent to take a newborn in the pool in the first place )? This is way past the line of "breast-feeding rights" and just odd...in fact, this whole thread is a little strange...are there really people that defend this type of behaviour in a public swimming pool? What about decorum, modesty and the fact that breastfeeding your baby is a fairly intimate act between mother and child? (you did ask for thoughts ).