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?

I think that fact the OP hasn’t updated would indicate that the request was rejected by the uni.

Hopefully they have at least sign posted to support or made suggestions for alternatives

I think the fact it wasn’t just a “newborn” but actually right up to 6 months puts a rather different slant on the request

So taking a baby a few weeks old into an lecture theatre during cold and flu season is putting the baby first.

Travelling for an hour and half each way by car or train is putting the baby first.

Keeping the baby in a sling while mum takes notes in a 3 hour lecture 3 times in the day is putting the baby first.

This is about the mum not the baby.

Ridiculous request. People trying to do some serious studying with a young baby in the room is madness.

Of course not, you can take a leave of absence and pick up again when you baby is older. Or send your child to childcare, my friend sent her 8 day old to a childminder as it was an unplanned pregnancy and she was in middle of exams. It worked out well she got a first, baby was breastfed, she was allowed to express in an office between her exams.
If you were working would you expect an employer to let you bring your newborn to work, of course not. Either make proper arrangements or take a leave of absence like a responsible parent.

I am astonished that the university has no nursery as in the early 2000s I was a lecturer in one of the only two UK universities that didn't have one.
You need to investigate the facilities better and argue for a nursing mother's room either to pump or to breastfeed.
However I am also astonished they don't record lectures. This is standard at every university I know of.
Before COVID I would occasionally be asked to accommodate a school aged child with a book or headphones. I did say yes. Now the parent would just watch online.
We are trying to be a family friendly campus in that parents do sometimes need to bring children to pick things up or for our Child Development lab - we have a children's corner in the library (well away from study areas) and a couple of breastfeeding rooms, and you see children walking around e.g. meeting mum for lunch if brought by dad, or if parents are running errands (we have a pharmacy and a supermarket). But babies in lectures would be very disruptive.
I tend to associate this kind of thing with US universities where lecturers don't get maternity leave.

Even if it has a nursery it's likely filled. To get into my campus nursery I had to get on the waiting list when I was 10 weeks pregnant!

It’s quite rare for a university to have a nursery these days. They’re just so costly to run.
We closed ours years ago

How do you do on Athena Swan, may I ask?

In a previous role I was the Athena Swan coordinator for my department. We do quite well and better than other institutions I’ve worked in.

Our onsite nursery closed in 2004 so it’s not a recent thing! No other university local to me has a nursery on campus and I live in a part of the UK which has lots of institutions!

Mine has one. Three months to five years. No newborns.

I take it you're a city university then?
We're campus, 60s so in the middle of fields.
Ours goes from about that I think @Elbowpatch but I was more surprised that there was NO nursery.
I suspect @HighLadyofTheNightCourt institution may have staff from many different areas commuting in. Nevertheless, I thought it was standard based on my experience.

No, not a city. A large town.
Most staff are relatively local or commute from larger cities in commuting distance.

I’m not sure an onsite nursery is that beneficial to staff now that hybrid working is more prevalent. I work from home at least two days a week so I needed childcare close to home. Otherwise I’d be travelling into work to just use childcare on wfh days.

The 2 universities I’ve attended in the last 5 years don’t have jrseries. My partner works at another uni and there’s no nursery there either

That's really sad! I was totally unaware (having been at my campus university for 20 years, and all the other [mainly campus] universities I visit for work seem to have them).
I guess we are likely to gain points for being family friendly, at least.

I think it very much depends on the type of university you are.
We get a lot of commuter students who are more likely to need childcare close to home. We also try to ensure that lectures aren’t spread out over 5 days so students know they have 2 or 3 full days on campus.
There are lots of ways in which you can be family friendly - a nursery isn’t the only way!

Whereas we have relatively few commuter students and timetables are entropic. Spread morning to early evening over five days.

Where I work we have a (really very good) nursery but it wouldn't be of use to OP - you couldn't book it for 8 random days and like others it takes babies from 3 months. Students go to the top of the waiting list and can have term-time only places, but you still have to book a regular place, half or full day slots etc.

I'm sure the baby would make noise etc in the lectures, like if everyone bought their kids in wouldn't it be distracting. They should probably have like rooms or something where you can see the lecturer and lectures but not serve as a distraction for anyone someone. Dunno why thats not been done yet.

Because most lectures/ seminars are interactive

yeh but they can microphones or something, its not a big deal. It's true that mothers should be taken into account, many uni students are younger, not working and can't afford childcare for their newborns.

@Lighttheway if you can’t afford childcare maybe wait until you can. But I think there is funding to help students who become parents

I think if a new parent wants to come to lectures and doesn't want to leave her baby at home, there should be a way to allow for that.

I‘m not sure you understand what interactive means.
Students are expected to engage in the session not just listen. A microphone isn’t going to solve that issue.

Childcare. That’s the option.