Bringing a newborn to university lectures

[Nimnuan]

I'm on a part-time university course (apprenticeship) and expecting a baby in the next few weeks. I'm not intending to take a break as any break would mean a year's delay. All classes this year my baby will be under 26 weeks old and breastfeeding.
I want to bring her to lectures with me because arranging childcare and expressing breastmilk will be much more difficult at such a young age and given the university's atrocious arrangements for expressing. Obviously if she cries or is disruptive I'll have to step out into the hallway.
I've just been told that I'm not allowed to bring my newborn to lectures because it would be a "contravention of rules and regulations". I've asked to be told which rules and regulations but haven't heard back yet.
Can you give me any advice about how to argue my case?

Is there no way to join the lectures online? Someone I know at uni currently only goes in to the uni in person about once every six months! A friend signs in with a QR code for her and she watches them all online. She is doing very well at the course.

I've asked to be told which rules and regulations but haven't heard back yet.

Tbh I don't think there are written rules about bringing babies to lectures as is, but they probably have something about their students not being allowed to interrupt the lectures with noises or something like that and this is what bringing the newborn would qualify as.

I suppose this is indirect sex discrimination.

I think you also have a case for a proper private space to express. An adult wouldn't eat or prepare food in a toilet so why should a baby.

I think you should go to the SU and ask them for advice, they also might be able to find you a space to express.

try and find if anyone has done it before.
at the university of edinburgh one of the professors in Civil Engineer used to bring her baby to work. She took 6 months mat leave so he already was 6 month old, she came back and managed to obtain not to teach, so she was just coming to uni once or twice a week to meet phd/master students and she kept him in her office all the time, breastfeeding when needed. If you can find out if anyone else ever did it in your uni you can’t be refused.

The Op is at Angela Ruskin uni? The uni even has a breastfeeding support hub

it offers private rooms for feeding / expressing

https://www.aru.ac.uk/health-medicine-and-social-care/midwifery-and-community-health/breastfeeding-support-hub

basically it does lots but it reasonably draws the line of bringing in a minor to lectures.

And the Op is about to waste her own time and the uni’s time pushing for this. And it won’t be successful. Better saving energy in to arranging childcare with your husband. If you can trust him that is!

You’re at the Chelmsford campus op?

** How we can help
We offer a free weekly drop-in where you can access confidential support and information around all your breastfeeding needs:

• every Tuesday from 10.30am-12pm in Cambridge
• every Wednesday 10am-12pm in Peterborough
• every other Friday 10am-12pm in Chelmsford.

I do think that many hours is far too long to take a baby to class with you. I don't really see how it would work.

Not in the UK but I did take my baby to a lecture a week for a few weeks from two weeks old. However, it was only an hour, I nursed her beforehand, and she slept through the whole thing so that no-one even knew she was there. Not sure it would have worked with an older baby who would demand more attention from me rather than just sleep.

A few weeks in I decided I preferred to be home with my baby so put my studies on hold and returned a few years later.

I had a lecturer who used to wear her baby in a sling when she gave lectures. It worked just fine.

You could ask whether they would be willing to record the content and place online. Where I work we record all lecturers as standard so students can review afterwards.

It is reasonable to ask for a space to breastfeed/express which is not a toilet.

Unreasonable.

OP seems only to be thinking of herself and not everybody else. Yes, her baby is the most important thing to her, but the lectures, the education, the university experience is probably the most important thing for everyone else. I'd be furious if someone brought a baby into my classes or lectures. Even if it didn't stir, it would be a distraction and I'd be on tenterhooks in case it woke up.

She's said there is a specific room for expressing.

Even more than that
there’s a breastfeeding support hub that meets 3x a week!

Having paid thousands with huge expectation for my own child's learning I'll say that I wouldn't want you as a student, as a parent at my child's uni or at my uni (I'm doing a Masters). The disruption with noise, fussing, your movements, baby crying, pooped up nappies stinking will be intolerable. I have 4 kids. With respect I back the uni. You should not be allowed. But I can't see why you can't give your baby the time they deserve after birth to nurture and care. Then come back.

If you end up spending the majority of your time walking up and down the corridors with a fractious newborn will that still count as attendance?

What was their reasoning for not allowing you remote access to lectures the first time around? That seems very unfair, I would push back on that.

I remember back when I was at uni I broke my leg very badly and couldn’t attend lectures for a term. I would have had to repeat the year if I hadn’t been allowed to access them online! This was 20 odd years ago and the lectures weren’t routinely recorded, but I could read the presentation itself.

@Nimnuan Just want to applaud your ambition with juggling kids. More power to you. 👏🫶
You should be able to sit discretely with your baby and if it were me, and i had the time and resources, I'd nake a case for discrimination/human rights. In 2025 we are still being discriminated against and your scenario is a prime example of patriarchy.

There isn’t a case to argue beyond you want to and believe it will be convenient for you. You won’t be allowed to do this and you’d be better saving your time and energy and considering alternative childcare options if you are focused on completing the course without a break.

And what about everyone else who have also paid for their course and want to be able to listen to the lectures without being interrupted by a baby. Babies will inevitably cry, fuss and need changing and attention. It’s unfair to everyone else and nothing to do with patriarchy.

If I only needed to breastfeed once a week this would be very helpful. As I've said, the lactation room is a 15 minute walk from class, you need to sign out a key, it takes 20 minutes to pump, and I'll need to do it at least every two hours until she's around three months old. Classes are three hours each with a twenty minute break in the middle.
I'll spend more time expressing or getting to/from the room than I will in class. The toilets are a better option the the lactation room and I already know I have access to those.

As it's part time, is the content on this day necessary to complete before moving onto the next set of modules?

Because if you're part time you could ask for these modules to be delayed and for you to take on more next year but still finish in the same time frame.

I don't think I'll need advice from student midwives on how to breastfeed but thank you for signposting.

Why not take your dog as well? Make a day out of it.

The whole course is one day a week, it's approx 14 days teaching per trimester. If I don't complete this trimester, or any other, then completion will be delayed by a full year. This would be an absolute last resort for me as it would stop my career progress.

Have you spoken to the department, rather than someone in the overall uni management, about somewhere to express? I work at a uni and our building doesn't have a space for that, but we'd be able to make arrangements within the department, such as booking you a not-centrally-available private room and letting you use our staff fridge.

Good point, thanks.