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?

Women can’t just start bringing children to lectures. Babies make noise, even when not crying and there’s no way the uni will allow it. As PP suggested, you’re going to need to ask to access online as an adjustment. How long is the lecture? Unless it’s a very long lecture, would you even need to express? I’d prefer to get childcare for this short time once a week and express in the toilet (and dispose of milk if no storage) than try and listen and absorb lectures with a baby on my lap.

Insane idea and very entitled. Lobby for nursing rooms to express in and creches instead (surely all univeristies have nursing rooms? mine certainly does).

First of all it would be unfair on other students, secondly how the hell could you concentrate with a new baby with you in lectures….

There was a baby in one of my masters modules

no one cared despite the mass of angry comments on here

OP I would ask to be absent from lectures and to review the slides and reading online, perhaps visiting the tutor for regular office hours to keep in touch. That’s if there is no recording.

Is a crèche likely to take newborns ?

No one can help you ‘argue your case’ until you know what rules/regulations they are going to use to justify their answer.

If it is a black and white ‘we are not insured to have under 16’s on the campus’ then there is no arguing that.

Pretty sure you can’t demand reasonable adjustments just because you have had a baby, it’s not a disability and anyway the offered adjustment could just as easily be ‘come back next year’.

The biggest brick wall to this is going to be the setting of a precedent. If you are allowed, there is no real argument to say no to the next person who asks.

There is literally no benefit to the college to agreeing, so they will not.

And thus the patriarchy persists.

What is the world coming to? We've had a poster who took her kids to a spa for them to be left unsupervised by the receptionist and allowed them to blare their ipads without headphones...Now someone is seriously considering bringing a baby to a university lecture? I can't actually believe there are people in real life who are this entitled!

You arrange for childcare, surely your university attendance is something major you must have considered before you planned a family? The other students who are paying thousands to be there do not deserve to have their education disrupted by your baby crying! It will also be a huge distraction when you need to intermittently leave and return to the lecture hall to feed/change the baby. There were plenty of mothers on my university course, it wouldn't have crossed anyone's mind to bring in a baby! If you do this, you will be asked to leave and I'm sure people will complain bitterly.

Op its really no different from bringing a baby to work. Do people bring their babies into the workplace? No. Many of the same reasons apply.

Which uni is it? They may have policies that some posters might be knowledgable of.

If the course is an apprenticeship, it's effectively part of your work. You'll be on maternity leave and not at work. Therefore you won't be doing the apprenticeship at this point either. I suspect you haven't had this conversation with your employers either as they'd tell you exactly that.

I would add that I've never known it work out well for a student who's just had a baby to plough on and insist they can study anyway and it'll be fine. It isn't; they are sleep deprived, recovering and don't have childcare in place. A year later it's a different story. Be sensible and give yourself the best chance of succeeding on the course. Is a delay in completion better than dropping out in the middle? Of course it is.

But no-one is going to give you tips on how to argue your case as they believe it to be a ridiculous idea.

There is no case. Dont ask a stupid question.

I adore babies but no way would I want one in my class. Even if only once a week.
I can’t think how anyone can help argue your case if they disagree with your baby being there sorry. If I were you I’d make other arrangements for childcare. Or defer for a year or two.

You could ask to bring the baby in on a trial basis, assuming it is a quiet one? Can you get the Student Union involved? You'd have to get your tutor to do a risk assessment but if it's just lectures and your baby will be with you all the time then there won't be any safety issues, if you don't block fire exits with the buggy. More difficult to argue against the disruption to others issue. If you end up expressing, ask if you can use the first aid room.

One of our directors at work took her baby to the office, she had a nanny on site who would bring the baby for feeds/during breaks.

Obviously this was crazy expensive, but if your main concern is breastfeeding, could you have someone doing this for you on those days?

Will you be on Mat leave from work? If your degree is via an apprenticeship I’d imagine you’d have to be put on a break in learning while you’re on maternity. You can’t do an apprenticeship while you’re not in work.

I did years ago bring my very newborn (from with me to university for a few weeks as it saved me missing an important exam. It was in a Nordic country not in England. Baby was 2-5 weeks old. I remember it as 2-3 classes a week. She slept through it all.

Children and strollers were allowed in the university buildings.
I had a babysitter too who took 100% care of her outside classroom but she could get me if needed.
Babysitter and baby also explored the coffee shops and parks around university.

My lectures made a big fuss over her. One insisted on bringing her in the class. He seemed to find great pleasure walking around with her teaching the art of practical theology. She was a nice prop..
He went to her christening later in autumn which for a small faculty was common standard. He still thinks she should have studied theology not midwifery. Happy days...

Not read the whole thread.
Maternity Action may be able to help with regard to whether there is any action you can take:
https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/breastfeeding-in-public-places/#:~:text=The%20Equality%20Act%202010%20says,higher%20education%20bodies%20and%20association.

Don't be so horrid to the OP

It's not reasonable. The OP chose to have a baby in the middle of her course she need to make suitable arrangements for children care.

This is a next level entitlement.

People always say they will take the child out if it fusses but they never do. Breastfeeding can also be quite noisy ime.

Absolutely not OP and I’d be EXTREMELY surprised if an adult establishment has the insurance/risk assessment/support in place to allow a baby in a lecture.

It’s not to do with the patriarchy.

the op can get childcare and attend all the lectures she likes.

but she shouldn’t expect to be able to bring a six month old into a lecture - that’s bonkers. They’re sitting up by then and need entertaining!

plus she’s officially working on an apprenticeship- will her employer allow this? Won’t she be on maternity leave?

and lastly. If there are labs of any kind a child is highly unlikely to be permitted.

I realise you only want to hear from people who might help you build a case against this rule…. But frankly, there isn’t a case to build. It’s unreasonable to expect to bring a baby to lectures. No one is discriminating against you: you have the option to take some time out of the course, or organise childcare and express breast milk. (It’s perfectly reasonable to expect decent condition to express btw.) It would be no different if it were a job and someone decided to take very little time off. You couldn’t just rock up with a baby.

FWIW it was normal to use childcare from a young age 30 or so years ago; maternity leave was short and many of us were back at work (expressing and using childcare) with 12 week olds. I had several friends who took even less time than that, so there’s no reason to feel you have to take months and months off unless you choose. But it’s unreasonable to expect the university to allow you to bring your baby along. You are the student, enrolled on the course: they aren’t barring you, it’s you who’s decided you feel they’re being unfair