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?

There will be a breast feeding room on campus for you to express with a fridge. You won’t be allowed to take your baby into lectures I’m afraid.

At many places it will be about insurance, so you won't have a case to argue - they don't have a choice. There may be safety issues as well.

The Equality Act 2010 says institutions need to make reasonable adjustments - reasonable in this case would likely mean recording the lectures and giving you access. You can't demand that they go against their insurance but you can demand equal access to learning materials.

Nobody here will help you argue a case that is against university health & safety rules and not in the best interests of the baby.

Sorry OP but I don’t think you can argue your case. It isn’t appropriate to bring your baby to lectures, it will be disruptive to everyone else and you can’t look after your baby properly if your’e concentrating on your lecture. It may also go against the uni’s H&S policy to have a child there. There would need to be risk assessments done. Also changing facilities, nappy waste bins. It just won’t work.

Thanks, I didn't realise that was an option

Noone is going to advise you how to argue your case though as everyone so far has told you this is not workable or considerate to anyone else on your course and you don't seem to care.

Would you take a newborn into a workplace whilst you did your job - even one day a week?

No. It would be ridiculous and unfair - on the baby and on your colleagues.

You can argue, as everyone else has said, that you need somewhere to pump that isn't the loo, but you can't argue that you have a legal right to take a baby into lectures.

exactly
OP needs to put energy into resolving her childcare problem / deferring the course
NOT trying to work out how to fight a hopeless cause !

You can’t seriously think there is any case here to argue? University courses are challenging for most people and cost a lot of money. Nobody wants a baby there distracting them. Stop being selfish. Take a gap year, see if lectures can be recorded or find childcare and ask for a space to express.

I would guess, that there’s a blanket no under 18/16 policy or something like that, perhaps for for insurance. I would suggest you’re in a hiding to nothing. Have you ever seen anyone else there with a baby? If not then you probably won’t get anywhere as you certainly won’t be the first person who has asked.

One off emergency is absolutely fine but in that case you should probably just skip that day of lectures but come on Op you’ve got to think about your classmates who are paying money to be there and then you waltz in with a possible screaming child.

Certainly, but I would ask them to please keep their opinions to themselves.

If you have a good plan, are totally prepared to accept that it might not work, and realise that you will most likely have to miss some classes then I say go for it. I could have absolutely done this with my first, I just didn't want to (my second was a different story - wouldn't have worked with him).

I'd ask for clarification of the 'rules and regulations' in writing, then take it to complaint stage as discrimination.

I was in this situation and asked the staff if I could do this as I was desperate and could not pause study or I’d lose my loan/grant.

I ended up leaving baby at 14 days old and attended with everyone else.

My partner would stay at home or in the university cafe.

Unfortunately even with a baby that’s unlikely to make any noise, it’s not viable to take a baby to class.

You’ve got to ask partner/family.

If it’s against your university regulations that’s one thing. But it’s ridiculous to say it’s not in the best interests of the baby!

Looks this is bad idea. To argue a case here doesn’t make sense.

Nobody here will help you argue a case

If I was more knowledgeable about it I'd help her argue it so you're wrong about that.

This idea that women's lives need to stop because the world isn't set up to accommodate them having bodily functions and babies needs to stop. Vive la revolution!

I went to uni about 20 years ago and one of my friends had a baby midway through. She attended lectures with the baby and fed during the lectures. No one cared if she did. If the baby got upset she would leave to settle him but he was usually in a sling just happy as larry.

And we're asking you to keep your baby at home.

I have a sensory processing disorder, hearing things is hard enough sometimes, add in noise from a baby and I'd be absolutely lost.

People don't go to university to be disturbed by someone else's baby, its madness and if I were an attendee I'd be complaining.

No advice but I hope you can work it all out. no doubt it will be challenging (& possibly challenged)

I don't think OP is demanding to take a 'screaming child' into a lecture. People are perfectly capable of taking a baby out if they become disruptive.

Twenty years ago was different times. They wouldn't have noticed for a while if a student dropped dead in class (I speak from literal experience).

Have you spoken to your workplace about this with it being an apprenticeship? Where i work it's in our internal policies that if you go on leave such as maternity/adoption/long-term sick (6 weeks+) you have to defer until the next cohort catches up. Life happens and clauses like this allow for it and for things to be delayed, if you're not in work attending lectures alone wouldn't be enough, as you won't be completing the work based elements.

oooh look how you quoted screaming child’ when I actually said ‘possible screaming child’. If you’re going to quote things then quote what was actually said.

What you think of as happy babbling is going to be someone else's nails on a blackboard