Nursing in swimming pool - article - Page 2

[Beckula]

I've nursed Bear while in the pool, it was fantastic. The local water park has a lazy river thing where you float down a fake river on an inner tube and my 9 month old (at the time) wanted to nurse. It was the most relaxing comfortable nursing session I've ever had. I'm not sure he will ever be able to top that for the rest of his life LOL! Anyway, what is the point of putting chlorine in the water if not to kill germs. If they aren't worried about everyone who might have an open wound going in a pool than its just silly. Are they going to start tersting for AIDS and hepatitus everytime someone wants to go for a swim? Not likely.

[Shiloh]

In Canada, moms have the right to breastfeed anywhere they are allowed to be.

I be wrong but the article said it was a private pool not a municipal one or YMCA. Does this apply to private clubs as well as public ones?

Also we have the right in Ontario to go topless
WHOO...

I personally think she should have stepped out of the pool. I forgot what human soup is in a pool...from the sounds of the urine, pubic hair, etc... feeding a baby in a pool seems as hygenic as feeding in a bathroom stall.
Maybe the owner should have educated her on that fact not asked her to step out...

Would a baby spitting up in the pool constitute a pool "fouling" ?
*not that an 18 month old would spit up likely...mind you my 3 month old can spit up anytime anywhere even if fed hours before..

Mrs. Karkouti pointed to a sign above the pool that states no food or drink is allowed in pool area. Pool regulations also do not allow glass bottles on the pool deck.

but I got milk on tap I always have food stuck to the front of me!

[Swan3]

Here's news coverage from CBC

It's an hour long video, go to 19:36 and that's where the story on this is.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/popup.html?h...ix/toronto.asx

I wonder when the comparisons between breastmilk and urine/feces will stop. But then it begs the question...how come during this story she's not comparing it to other food? Wasn't it the food/drink policy she was focused on before? Hmmmmmm.

[Britishmum]

Originally Posted by Swan3

I wonder when the comparisons between breastmilk and urine/feces will stop.

:

[Kat_shoshin]

I have breastfed my baby in the public pool. I figured, I was letting him swim in the water and well... drink some of it anyway. Also, I figured he was peeing in the water so how could I contaminate it further?

It was relaxing and nice... it was a warmed pool with jets and a bench. We were quickly asked to leave the pool to nurse... but only asked to sit up on the deck. They said it was their no food and drink policy. I was cool with it.

But later a friend we knew that worked there ran into us and realized..."That nut breastfeeding in the pool was you?" So I guess they thought it was pretty crazy.

I am also in Canada - Nova Scotia. I didn't really think it was a big deal - it was the only time I was ever asked to nurse elsewhere - and I did.

At the same time, I wasn't asked to go out of sight or anything.

[Sprungthe2.50]

I can see if the pool owners just didn't want to have to deal with someone demanding they be allowed to feed their children from a bottle or sippy cup in the pool because someone was breastfeeding, and if you allow one you have to allow the other. Many will do that just to make a point.

I think if they told the mother that was the reason in the first place, she probably would have understood and gotten out of the pool and they wouldn't have been insulting her. They could have explained that people will do it, and then it costs them so much to have to clean it all up, they may have to pay fines for allowing food and drink in the pool as it goes against the health regulations etc.

[SophieAnn]

Originally Posted by Shiloh

Would a baby spitting up in the pool constitute a pool "fouling" ?
*not that an 18 month old would spit up likely...mind you my 3 month old can spit up anytime anywhere even if fed hours before..

To answer this question: yes. It would be "fouling". At our pool there is a smaller, warmer second pool that is separate from the main pool (I think they do baby stuff there). Last week when I was at swimming lessons that pool was closed/empty because a baby had vomited in the pool so it needed to be cleaned.

Kat_shoshin, I feel much the same as you, I think. If it's a food and drink policy, that's fine and I totally agree. I am fine with breastfeeding not being allowed in areas where bottle-feeding is not allowed. Bottle-feeding would not be allowed in the pool either, right?

In fact, at our local pool that I go to I have noticed signage stating that no food or drink is allowed anywhere near the pool - including the pool deck.

I think that the problem with this is the way the pool owner approached the woman, and handled the situation. If she had approached it in a different way, maybe it wouldn't have escalated the way it did. I agree with pp who stated it sounds like the pool owner approached it from a "this is indecent"/"trying to hide the nursing mother" way. Totally the wrong way to approach it.

So often I see the comparison being made that in a situation a bottle-feeding mom wouldn't be asked to leave so a breasfeeding mom shouldn't be asked to leave. I think in this case a bottle-feeding mom would have also been asked to leave... so why doesn't it go both ways?

[mama2mygirl]

I'm not feeling this one. I don't think there is anything wrong with a no food/drink policy. I might feel differently if the mom had older kids and was nursing a newborn and keeping an eye on them. But nursing an almost 2yo doesn't seem urgent. She could have waited or moved.

[KirstenMary]

Originally Posted by TCMoulton

So if you allow breastfeeding moms to feed their babies in the pool what about those who feed with bottles, whether it be formula or pumped breastmilk (since there would be no way to tell when already in a bottle) - if you allow one you have to allow the other.

I agree with this completely.

No food means no food. No formula, no breastmilk, no soda, no cheeseburgers. I thought we wanted BFing to be normal - part of everyday life and accepted by everyone. Now we want to make it a special exception?

Sorry, no. I think wanting it both ways sends mixed messages.

[MommyJoia]

OK, so.... if breastfeeding is included with the "no food or drink" rule, then, that means that under that rule we couldn't breastfeed in a store with a "no food or drink" sign in the window even if our state law says we can breastfeed anywhere we are allowed to be... so the "no food or drink" sign trumps state law??? If that's the case, then anyone can post a "no food or drink" sign anywhere they please to keep breastfeeding mothers out. I think that's a bunch of BS.

so if breastfeeding is included with the "no food or drink" rules, the it would also have to be included with the "no outside food or drink" rules... then I wouldn't be able to breastfeed in quite a few restaurants or any movie theater.

I bring sippy cups into the museum where there are "no food or drink" signs and no "security" or any other employee has ever said anything to me about it. I think there are certain allowances to the "rules" when it comes to babies and small children... considering breastfeeding "food or drink" (while it is food and drink) is taking the "rule" a bit too literal. Can you bring bottles of formula to the pool for FF babies? can they drink their bottles poolside, or would their mothers be told to take them to the cafe area?

[TCMoulton]

Originally Posted by MommyJoia

OK, so.... if breastfeeding is included with the "no food or drink" rule, then, that means that under that rule we couldn't breastfeed in a store with a "no food or drink" sign in the window even if our state law says we can breastfeed anywhere we are allowed to be... so the "no food or drink" sign trumps state law??? If that's the case, then anyone can post a "no food or drink" sign anywhere they please to keep breastfeeding mothers out. I think that's a bunch of BS.

I have never seen a mom stopped from feeding her baby a bottle inside a store so obvoiusly those food rules do not seem to apply to babies.

I agree though - if bottle feeding is not allowed in the pool then breastfeeding should not be allowed in the pool either.

[johnsmom]

This isn't about a baby getting pool water in its mouth, a "no food or drink policy" or contaminating the pool. It's about a woman having her breasts out in public.
In Ontario a woman has the right to breastfeed wherever she has a right to be. Period. That includes a private business.
I hope the pool owner is fined or reprimanded or something. People need to get the message that it is NEVER acceptable to interfere with a nursing mother.

[Swan3]

What I see is that the pool owner's story keeps changing. So initially it was about no food or drink, then it was about fouling the pool with a bodily fluid (she lets babies in there anyway so figure that one out)...so which is it? Plus the woman was asked to go to a changeroom or the viewing gallery (which I'm assuming is out of the pool area completely).

I think it's all about the approach, if the woman had said no food/drink to begin with and pointed out an area that wasn't hiding the woman she may have stood a chance. Right now all I'm seeing is a discrimination case where policies were used to justify rather than being the cause.

[DizzyMissLizzy]

my problem is that if she got out of the pool and grabbed a bottle and sat back down where she breastfed, would anyone have said anything even though in a no food or beverage area....I believe that NO one would have asked her to leave...

[Swan3]

Originally Posted by DizzyMissLizzy

my problem is that if she got out of the pool and grabbed a bottle and sat back down where she breastfed, would anyone have said anything even though in a no food or beverage area....I believe that NO one would have asked her to leave...

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[~pi]

Originally Posted by TCMoulton

So if you allow breastfeeding moms to feed their babies in the pool what about those who feed with bottles, whether it be formula or pumped breastmilk (since there would be no way to tell when already in a bottle) - if you allow one you have to allow the other.

Actually, that is not how it works here legally. As I understand it from several lawyer friends, breastfeeding is protected here in a way that bottle feeding is not. The term is apparently sui generis - breastfeeding is unique because of the biology involved. You cannot try to create a false equivalence and pretend that what goes for one goes for the other.

Under Ontario law, breastfeeding is a protected right. This is emphasized further at the local level (there are tons of local initiatives for breastfeeding, including free clinics staffed with IBCLCs, free access to nurses who will make home visits to help with breastfeeding, posters and ads, and a campaign that the city did with restaurants and cafes to display the breastfeeding symbol ) and at the federal level, where there is an official position on the issue: "Anytime, Anywhere." (Health Canada. Breastfeeding anytime anywhere, part of a breastfeeding social marketing strategy, breastfeeding resources. Ottawa: Health Canada Communications, K1A 0K9; 1993.)

At the policy level, breastfeeding is officially recognized here as an important health issue. It is not seen as just another way to feed a baby, and you do not have to allow bottles anywhere you allow breastfeeding.

[RomanGoddess]

Originally Posted by TCMoulton

So if you allow breastfeeding moms to feed their babies in the pool what about those who feed with bottles, whether it be formula or pumped breastmilk (since there would be no way to tell when already in a bottle) - if you allow one you have to allow the other.

Originally Posted by Novella

I disagree. The point behind banning drinks and foods in pools is that if they spill into the water, it could be an inconvenience/costly cleanup. It is possible (although unlikely) that bottled formula or breastmilk could be spilled into the pool, so that makes it similar to other beverages. It is NOT possible that breastmilk could be spilled into the pool, as it's not in a cup of any sort.

I see what you are saying, but TCMoulton does have a point that to allow breast but not bottlefeeding would be an unfair policy that discriminates against mothers who have to feed their child using a bottle - in the same way that it is unfair to force breastfeeding mothers to leave a public area to breastfeed, all in the name of "discretion", when bottlefeeding mothers don't have to.

[KirstenMary]

Originally Posted by TCMoulton

I have never seen a mom stopped from feeding her baby a bottle inside a store so obvoiusly those food rules do not seem to apply to babies.

I agree though - if bottle feeding is not allowed in the pool then breastfeeding should not be allowed in the pool either.

Yes!

Originally Posted by johnsmom

This isn't about a baby getting pool water in its mouth, a "no food or drink policy" or contaminating the pool. It's about a woman having her breasts out in public.
In Ontario a woman has the right to breastfeed wherever she has a right to be. Period. That includes a private business.
I hope the pool owner is fined or reprimanded or something. People need to get the message that it is NEVER acceptable to interfere with a nursing mother.

God, I disagree with this, and by the time I am done nursing, I will have been nursing for close to 10 years straight, lol.

We want nursing to be normalized. We want people to look at nursing as just an everyday thing. As such, nursing mothers must respect the "rules" set in place that *gasp* just might apply to them, too. And if that means not feeding a baby in a pool, then it means not feeding that baby in that pool.

[KirstenMary]

Originally Posted by RomanGoddess

I see what you are saying, but TCMoulton does have a point that to allow breast but not bottlefeeding would be an unfair policy that discriminates against mothers who have to feed their child using a bottle - in the same way that it is unfair to force breastfeeding mothers to leave a public area to breastfeed, all in the name of "discretion", when bottlefeeding mothers don't have to.

Exactly. We want nursing to be seen as normal and not special.

[johnsmom]

Originally Posted by KirstenMary

Yes!



We want nursing to be normalized. We want people to look at nursing as just an everyday thing. As such, nursing mothers must respect the "rules" set in place that *gasp* just might apply to them, too. And if that means not feeding a baby in a pool, then it means not feeding that baby in that pool.

I'm just not sure that the toddler in this incidence was being 'fed'. I think she was being 'comforted'. And nursing is how this mother comforts her toddler.
I don't know if the question "would a bottlefed baby be allowed to eat in the pool?" is appropriate here. I think the question is "Would a non-nurisng toddler be allowed to be cuddled in the pool?"
This little girl wasn't looking for a snack in the pool, she just needed some attention from her mother in a way that is normal to her and should be normal to all of us. Nursing is a biologically normal way for a mother to offer comfort to her kids, not just food.