Are there any public places where you are NOT allowed to breastfeed?

[JosephineClaire]

I'm planning to breastfeed, and just wondered if there were any places where it is not allowed?

Not up here in Scotland there isnt. I have preastfed in pubs, on buses, in car parks etc

If there was I'd make a point of going there especially to breastfeed!

In Scotland its illegal to stop a woman breastfeeding!

no nowhere
and I if I found out there was I would go and breastfeed there

There are places you are not allowed to be, in which case I guess you're not allowed to breastfeed. Otherwise there is no general law.

That said, shops, cafes, bars, etc are not 'public places' technically, are they? A landlord can refuse to serve someone a drink withoutneeding to give a reason, and ask them to leave the pub.

TA I think that is the rule in England and Wales. However the Scottish Parliament has enacted legislation to presecute the owner of a property such as a pub/cafe etc if they try to prevent breastfeeding!

Not AFAIK. Tho I expect that in places where you might endanger yourself by lingering, bfing could legitimately be frowned upon. Much as I agree with and support the right to breastfeed anywhere, if you chose to breastfeed in, say, the middle of a level crossing I would not consider the police to be being unreasonable were they to arrest you. Unless they were barging you with Indecent Exposure of course!

Got it weegiemum - right to refuse service without reason, unless doing so breaches some other rule of discrimination (e.g. racist reasons) and in Scotland BFing is protected by other legislation.

check out the Equalities Bill/Act. Not sure if it's been implemented entirely.

Found this...

"Breastfeeding in public (restaurants, cafes, libraries etc.) is protected under the 1975 Sexual Discrimination Act under the provision of goods, facilities and services section. If the child is under 6 months old, she has additional protection under a 2008 amendment to the act which protects maternity rights."

It's from Wiki but I've read it elsewhere too and the references seem good. So cafes, pubs, etc in England are not allowed to ask you to stop breastfeeding.

I'm sure the new Equalities Act is extending the rights of children to be bf (for those not in Scotland). So things should be improving.
If it's a place that lets you in with a baby, then you should be able to bf there (ie I was once asked to leave a pub with my baby, not cos of feeding but because they didn't have a licence for children iyswim). Good luck by the way, you will be fine!

@Trillian "unless doing so breaches some other rule of discrimination"

Preventing a woman from breastfeeding in a restaurant, cafe or pub (obviously pubs that ordinarily allow children in) is illegal under the sexual discrimination act, as japhrimel says, and the provision is shortly to be beefed up in England by explicit statemebt concerning the absolute right of women to breastfeed children under the age of 6 months anywhere they like.

OP, if someone tries to stop you from breastfeeding in a public place, you can tell them that their request is illegal, and that if they do not desist from harrassing you, you will call the police.

OK, thaks Beanlet, I didn't realise BFing was specifically protected in England/Wales as well as Scotland.

We found plenty of places who wouldn't let us with the first child... because we asked. With the second and third when we got comments like "wouldn't you be more comfortable in the loo" or whatever DW and I would either reply with the usual "would you have your dinner in there?" or "would YOU be more comfortable if we did?" or simply "fuck off". When DW did it you could never see anything anyway.

The specific legislation for England and Wales is still pending, but it's technically redundant anyway because breastfeeding mothers are already protected under the SDA. It's just that some shop proprietors are stuck in the dark ages and need to be hit between the eyes with a two-by-four.

Fallen short of doing that but been quite cutting with retorts.