Do I have any legal right to breastfeed in hospital?

[NAR4]

I have recieved a date for surgery to get my downstairs repaired, following the birth of my last child. My baby is 4 months old and fully breastfed. He refuses to drink from a bottle or a cup and just screams until he can be fed by me. I have been trying to arrange for my husband to be able to bring the baby to me, in hospital, for his feeds. I have checked that it is safe to do so after an anesthetic (drugs in breastmilk helpline, BfN) and it is. The hospital have refused on the grounds that other patients might find it offensive.

Do I have any legal right to be able to feed my child? The hospital have said if he is hungry he would take the bottle. I don't believe this at all and am finding the whole thing really stressfull. The operation is booked for 1st July.

Any knowledge or help would be greatly appreciated.

i thought you had a legal right to breastfeed anywhere in the UK! can't believe they are putting another person's potential offense above a very real small baby's right to eat!!

That sounds very wrong to me, though I'm afraid I can't point you to any legislation. Can you go higher up at thehospital? The person you spoke to may have it wrong

Please contact the infant feeding support team/head at the hospital and gain their backing for challenging this.

If the baby is entitled to be on the premises, then yes, you cannot be prevented from breastfeeding.

Er I thought there was no place that was legally out of bounds.

I'm a bit agog at the hospital saying it as surely if your not in a room you just pull the curtain round once bubba turns up? So long as staff have access unimpeded to do their checks when they want to?

here - definitely covers hospitals

doh! breastfeeding in public

jesus christ, OFFENSIVE?

I think this is appalling. I would just contact the highest up person in the NHS you can think of and ask them to explain how a baby eating could possibly be offensive.

www.maternityaction.org.uk/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/breastfeedingpublicplace.pdf might be helpful?

I suspect this is a time where if you could let us know the hospital, the Mumsnetters in that area may be able to advise better.

I am sure this has to be a mistake!

I'd also copy in the PALS organisation as its amazing how quick issues can be resolved usually when they are cc'd.

but yes, everyone else has better advice than I do

Don't hospital beds have curtains? I dread to think what will happen if someone who finds breastfeeding offensive sees your surgery being inspected otherwise ...

(Hospital are being ridiculous. Tell them you will be offended if you can't bresatfeed and watch them explode in a puff of logic, then carry on doing what is sensible, normal and natural. Good luck.)

Soap nuts has given answer! :)

Interesting reading too

I scan read this thinking the hospital didn't want the baby with you on the premises/ward for the whole period, not for bf being OFFENSIVE

I'd go to the press!

I think with a baby of that age you are legally allowed to have them in with you IIRC! I might be wrong but I remember reading something like it.

My local hospital doesn't have a specific infant feeding team, just the midwifes that have extra training. The NHS have contracted out my operation to a nearby private hospital and the midwifes (who I did contact for help with this) have said they have no authority there and it is up to the hospital.

Dispite the information I have from BfN, the consultant insists that I should pump and dump for 24hrs, so is also not supportive in my decision.

The ward sister and the consultants secretary have both said my husband can't bring the baby in for feeds unless I am in a private room, which aren't available to NHS patients. I did ask if I could pay for a private room but have been told they are only for patients who are having their treatment paid for privately (which I can't afford).

I'm not requesting any special treatment. My husband would be caring for my baby (not at the hospital) for the day, but I wanted him to be allowed to bring the baby onto the ward, when he needed to be fed.

I don't know who else I can talk to at the hospital to try and get this OKed. Does anyone know?

That is absolutey outrageous - don't they have curtains around the beds anyway?

I ha surgery when ds1 was 5 months and ebf.

He was allowed to stay with me the full 4 nights as long as dh stayed to look after him. They gave me a side room and had a cot brought up from the children's ward.

They couldn't have been more helpful I would give your breast feeding support midwife a call.

I wish I could help on the legal side but have no knowledge there sorry. But way back when DS2 was 2 weeks old I had to go back to hospital, not the maternity department though. The hospital tried to tell me BF baby couldn't come and then they suggested husband bring baby in whenever he needed feeding (at 2 weeks!). Eventually sanity prevailed and we were given a private room (private bit of NHS hospital). So stick to your guns and make them provide a solution. Good luck.

You are receiving terrible treatment OP, please don't let this go... I know it's tough as you don't have much time, but tweet your MP, tweet everyone... try to shame this hospital in to reversing their disgusting policy. Potentially starving a tiny baby to save someone elses's embarrassment is an absolute disgrace.

That is outrageous. I would have my partner bring the baby to the hospital and feed, what are they going to do, call the police?!

Get all the relevant info ams legislation printed out and challenge them!

I wonder if they mean that its a women only ward and it would be offensive for your dh to turn up at all hours, rather than that feeding your baby would be offensive?? They may be fine with baby staying with you rather than dh having to come onto the ward at night if this is the case?