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AIBU

Breastfeeding in swimming pool

(202 Posts)
Kiwigramz Thu 16-Jan-20 03:35:20

I am all for mums breastfeeding if they wish. However recently there has been discussion about being allowed to breastfeed in pools.

I think this is completely wrong. Why on earth would anyone want to do this? The baby is likely to regurgitate and I for one don’t want to take in water that has been sicked in.

Surely baby should be fed just before going into the pool. Also we never had this exposure years ago. Breastfeeding should be something personal between mother and baby, a special private time to bond.

AIBU or out of touch with the times?

Sparkling Mon 20-Jan-20 19:03:18

Busy, busy multi tasking mums. Feel sorry for the offspring of such mums, that haven't a slot in their timetables for feeding their child.

grannypiper Mon 20-Jan-20 19:03:34

bettybeautiful I do think Mums that BF in a pool are trying to make a statement, no i dont think i need to examine my own views on breastfeeding, the very fact that i breast feed my children shows how important i think it is.

Tedber Mon 20-Jan-20 19:28:38

grannypiper totally agree re statement. I breastfed all mine, I was a Martini girl........any time, any place lol but never felt the need to feed in a swimming pool, roller coaster or dodgems! Some things just take a bit of the old common, which has long demised I fear!

Callistemon Mon 20-Jan-20 19:38:34

I was a Martini girl ....any time, any place lol but never felt the need to feed in a swimming pool, roller coaster or dodgems
grin
I was once in a small boat as it rocked gently and, instead of gently nodding off, we both felt seasick!!

I do tend to think we just got on with it and didn't have to prove anything to all and sundry

Chestnut Mon 20-Jan-20 23:31:25

I don't think anyone my age would have even thought of breastfeeding in a swimming pool. We simply fed the child before going swimming, and if necessary afterwards too! But never during the swim. Why would you want to?

Callistemon Mon 20-Jan-20 23:35:48

Mine were never snackers.

notanan2 Tue 21-Jan-20 06:52:20

People dont plan to feed in a pool?To "prove a point" or otherwise? How do you latch a baby thats not rooting?? You cant!

BFing isnt just food. Its hydration, temperature control, pain relief and comfort.

A baby that is feeling too hot or cold in the pool will insinctively seek a quick feed to regulate

BlueBelle Tue 21-Jan-20 19:14:19

So you get out and sit at the side notanan how can a baby feed with kids jumping in, getting splashed with chlorine, people swimming up and down, noise, laughter, unless it’s done to prove a point
What next on top of the helter skelter

Yennifer Tue 21-Jan-20 19:53:00

I watched a video o xe of a woman screaming at a mum for breastfeeding because her husband looked.... What sort of world do we live in where any woman would scream at a breastfeeding mum rather than tell their husband not to stare x

notanan2 Tue 21-Jan-20 22:13:34

So you get out and sit at the side notanan how can a baby feed with kids jumping in, getting splashed with chlorine, people swimming up and down, noise, laughter, unless it’s done to prove a point

Your post makes no sense:
"Sit on the side where there no less noise and chlorine 'cause noise and chlorine!"

And who the hell does lengths up and down the baby area of a pool?
Baby swim is either in baby pool, a roped off area, or in the case of very small pools: during "closed for baby lessons" time!

I have NEVER seen a baby, breastfed or otherwise, in the fast lane! grin

Callistemon Tue 21-Jan-20 23:00:52

I've been chucked out of the pool and had to go into the baby pool with slightly older DGD because the babies and mums had arrived for their swimming lessons.

As we'd paid to go in I wanted to get my money's worth. No-one said that we'd only get 10 minutes or so then have to leave.

Quite honestly, we didn't take much notice of them.

mike28939 Sun 09-Feb-20 23:50:48

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

maddyone Mon 10-Feb-20 11:19:07

Breast feeding in a swimming pool is unacceptable. It’s hardly hygienic for the baby, it’s not relaxing for the baby, and all the chlorine possibly being ingested along with the milk makes it totally unsuitable. I breast fed three children and would not have dreamt of feeding my baby in a swimming pool. I also rejected the women’s toilet area as suggested by an assistant in a store, she then found me a nice quiet changing cubicle.

May7 Thu 13-Feb-20 14:59:10

Bibbity I'd give you a standing ovation if I knew how to do it on here. Your baby is hungry so you feed them wherever you like. Anyone offended by that simple action can simply look away. ?

endlessstrife Fri 14-Feb-20 12:56:23

I realise reading all these posts, how lucky I was. I never demand fed. For the first few weeks of my children’s lives I worked out how often they tended to feed, then stuck to it, but at my convenience. So an outing to the swimming pool for example, with three older children and a baby, my baby would have been fed at home, then we knew we had about three hours until the next one. It worked very well, and I’ve encouraged my daughter and daughter in laws to do the same. The mums who demand fed were all over the place, and couldn’t make any plans which weren’t interrupted by having to feed.

maddyone Fri 14-Feb-20 13:05:47

I agree endless, that’s pretty much what I did, and I breast fed three.
With regard to feeding a baby in a swimming pool, I still feel it’s unhygienic for the baby who could easily swallow the chlorinated water. I shouldn’t have thought it’s a very comfortable place to feed either. I preferred to feed mine in a comfortable and warm place where I could relax.

FaithMartin Wed 09-Sep-20 08:18:21

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Gwyneth Wed 09-Sep-20 08:53:49

Where does it all end .....breast feeding while driving, sitting in the dentists chair while having treatment? I breast fed but would never have considered feeding in a swimming pool. Not only is it unhygienic and puts the baby at risk of infection it’s just unnecessary. Just get out and feed your child.

onlyruth Wed 09-Sep-20 09:38:20

Good grief. I feel like I've been parachuted into the Victorian era! Such incredible prudishness and judgment.

OP hasn't even made it clear whether the mother and baby were actually in the water or on the side.

But whatever, my babies (back in the 80s) would occasionally get fretful, and it would only take a minute or two on the breast for them to settle. Certainly I can see why a mother in the pool with a small child and a baby, might choose to settle the baby with the breast rather than get everyone out and shiver in the cold.

Callistemon Wed 09-Sep-20 10:16:17

Reported.

MawB2 Wed 09-Sep-20 10:32:02

I really don’t think we Grans should be judging where and when younger women should feed their babies.
I happened to prefer a quiet corner as my babies were not great feeders and easily distracted, but that was my choice. I also remember the disapproving tutting which followed my baby crying in Dickins and Jones tearoom on Oxford Street 45 years ago. All those middle aged women, some in hats, who had clearly NEVER had to look after their baby themselves. (My dear, was it Nanny’s day off?)
I retreated to the “Powder room” to do what I had to do, crimson faced -like D!
So let’s mind our own business or even show some humanity like the sweet old lady I heard of who leaned over and cut up a young mum’s lunch so that she could eat with one hand while still feeding her baby.

Callistemon Wed 09-Sep-20 10:33:16

To clarify, it was FaithMartin's post I reported as it is advertising.

MawB2 Wed 09-Sep-20 10:34:19

Me too!

Witzend Wed 09-Sep-20 14:34:37

If my dd happened to be at the pool with her baby and two other still-young children, and the baby was hungry, or was in need of comfort, I’m sure she’d have absolutely no qualms about feeding her at the poolside, and quite frankly sod anyone prudish and old-fashioned enough to object.

Galaxy Wed 09-Sep-20 14:38:46

That's a lovely post maw b.