BF in a jacuzzi?????

[onetwothreebp]

I'm aware people pee in the pool.

You don't have to agree with me. I'm just saying I personally don't think women should breastfeed IN the pool. I'm not saying they have to huddle in a dirty change room stall. I'm just saying I'd rather they feed poolside than in the pool itself.

 

[staralfur]

I think that a baby feeding is the same as any other person feeding. I should be allowed to breastfeed anywhere anyone else is allowed to eat.

But I think it works both ways. If no one is allowed to eat or drink in the pool, then I think it's fair to take your baby out of the pool to feed them.

I am all for normalizing breastfeeding in public and I think you do that by making it NORMAL, not by expecting to be an exception to the rules or have everyone back you up no matter what.

 

[deafgal]

Most public places will not even allow children in jacuzzi. They told my son many times that he can not be in it.

 

[deafgal]

Btw, I think bf in pool is hard on the LO...what if he gets water up in his nose?

 

[iwantabub]

Just to clarify, when I say "out comes a boob" I don't mean I sit there waving it about at random people, I discreetly nurse my baby! (Or not a baby, actually a toddler at 14 months...)

I'm sorry to change the subject but I literally pissed myself laughing at this while having a mental image of a woman running around with her breast in her hand waving it around at people sayin "hi" by the side of a pool hahaha

 

[smokey]

Im very back and forth on what I think of this one.
My first thought was sod the nip just how silly it was to have a young child in a Jacuzzi, but in her comment she states she wasn't in one but sitting at the side and her son wasn't in the water (it fails to state if she was or not though).
I then went on to think well she shouldn't really have done it there as others have stated its a no food or drink area for everyone and while a few have stated a newborn cant be expected to abide by this the bottom line is the child was not a new born but rather a 9 month old so (forgive me if this pisses people off) doesn't really need to be fed immediately and spontaneously and can wait a few minutes to get somewhere more appropriate, plus it wasn't the child that was wanting feeding but rather the mother that choose to feed there so in my mind completely different to a young baby "needing" to be fed straight away before becoming inconsolable.
But then I went back to but why the hell not, the idea of milk getting into the water being a problem seems silly seen as pretty much everyone goes swimming with the knowledge that kids are peeing and pooing in that water, bodily fluids of all kinds get into it.
Should a woman be made to prove she isn't during a mentral cycle before going in "just in case"?, should children be not allowed to go in the water "just in case" they have a accident?, should lactating mothers be made to stay out? should pregnant women be banned in case their waters break?
I was actually worrying about that yesterday when I went swimming about my waters breaking and not realising
But then I went back to the thought it was a bad idea (not so much a wrong thing to do but rather a bad idea) because of dangers such as someone splashing too much and baby inhaling through the nose, slipping dangers and such.

So at the end of the day Im still not too sure of an idea of if she was in the right or wrong
But if the comments apparently made by the staff that she states are true like

I was approached & told that nobody is allowed to feed publically and I should leave to do it elsewhere

they joked about just not wanting to see it & how it's nasty

Then that is certainly discusting regardless of if she was in the right or wrong.

 

[onetwothreebp]

The way I see it, I wouldn't be allowed to bottle feed my child in the pool, so neither should a nursing mother. It might be easier for both of us, sure, keeping the baby warm in the water but fair is fair.

 

[deafgal]

Or maybe the 9 months old child is thirsty and can't drink out of a bottle or cup yet. Mine never took a bottle. And she just recently getting a hang of drinking from a cup. But dehydration is no time for sippy cup training. Of course, I am talking about on the poolside where they allow food, not in the pool .

 

[deafgal]

Come to think of it, they have water fountains for both kids and adults near the pool. What about babies?

 

[Tiff]

If she wasn't in the pool then I don't see its right for them to tell her no IMHO. But if that were the case too, I'd expect that bottle fed babies should be allowed to have a bottle (outside of the pool too).

I'm curious to see if they banned bottles poolside too, also if they did then what is their protocol? Is there a designated eating area?

However, I wouldn't bring my baby into a jacuzzi. Too hot for them.

 

[Strike]

If Mom was in an area designated for eating then what's the problem? However rules are rules and, if the area is designated a food free zone, then those are the rules.

Some have said they would feed in the pool if they had to. Really? You just heard about all these people talking about what is in the water, not to mention the chlorine, bromine, salt or whatever is used to control the pH. It's not swimming in that water that grosses me out, but what the baby might take in while nursing. At least when they are in the water "swimming" you're watching to make sure they don't drink the water. But when they are nursing there is the very high risk that some will go in.

Also, consider the safety aspect. If mom is sitting on the side of the pool holding baby and gets knocked by a rambunctious kid and falls in, her hands are already busy holding baby so it's not like she can stop herself from falling. At least, if you are nursing away from the side of the pool you can put yourself in a safer environment for you and your baby.

I can't help but think that this mom was nursing and trying to prove a point instead of thinking why the rules are there in the first place - the safety of her, her baby and everyone around her. Sometimes we really have to step back and deal with the grief of a baby crying for the all of the 30 seconds it would take to wrap them in a towel and go to another area if it puts everyone (including baby) in a safer environment during a vulnerable period.

 

[Eternal]

I don't really see why others have an issue with it, however I don't know of I'd like the idea of my baby drinking form a nipples that's been in a pool, wouldn't it taste weird? I can't imagine wanting to ever breastfed in a pool but the the thought of breast feeding in public terrifies me and is partly on of the reasons I stopped (among many others), but just because I personally wouldn't I don't see the issue.

As for "fair is fair" someone quoted, it's a completely different way of feeding your baby, it doesn't mean bringing anything into the pool area, a bottle feeding mum would have to bring in a Bottle with is a Health and safety issue but a breastfeeding mum doesn't need to so it's a whole different ball game surely?

 

[Natsku]

I don't see the problem with it. She wasn't actually breastfeeding in the jacuzzi anyway. I don't seen the problem with BF in the pool, keeps the baby warm.

 

[CelticStar]

Some have said they would feed in the pool if they had to. Really? You just heard about all these people talking about what is in the water, not to mention the chlorine, bromine, salt or whatever is used to control the pH. It's not swimming in that water that grosses me out, but what the baby might take in while nursing. At least when they are in the water "swimming" you're watching to make sure they don't drink the water. But when they are nursing there is the very high risk that some will go in.

I'm just going to pick up on this bit about what baby might swallow whilst nursing.

Now, I'm pretty sure that my child isn't unique in that when she's nursing she has an airtight (and therefore water tight) latch, if she didn't then she a) wouldn't be able to nurse and b) it would be incredibly painful for me. So all those nasty chemicals etc? Yeah, they're not getting in her mouth when she nurses.
HOWEVER.
When she's swimming, she takes in water and all those nasty chemicals and gross things. I'm sure that no matter how careful you are at watching them, they're going to swallow the occasional mouthful of water.
Hells bells, even I swallow the occasional mouthful of water and guess what? Neither me nor my daughter are dead from chemical poisoning or anything else yet! Neither are we full of diseases.

Personally I think the whole question of whether it's "safe" from a health point of view to nurse in a swimming pool is ridiculous, you can wrap your children up in cotton wool and bubble wrap and be fearful every time they get a sniffle or you can relax and accept that sometimes kids eat or swallow things they're not meant to. I don't mean harmful stuff, I mean everyday things like swimming pool water, or like my daughter today, a dog biscuit. Yep, call social services on me, my daughter ate a dog biscuit. She's not suffering from any side effects but her hair is lovely and shiny

My child mauls the family dog, she grabs at the cats, she sometimes eats pet hair (no, I don't class it as part of her 5 a day) she goes swimming and swallows water, she'll grab at my hand and lick baby lotion off it before I can stop her and she eats dog biscuits that she gets out of the dogs bowl.
She's 14 months old and has had 1 cold in her entire life and has no allergies.

Go figure, maybe kids don't need protecting from life after all

 

[deafgal]

I used a diaper rash cream that my baby's doctor recommended for her. It has some natural ingredient in it for cooling pain relief. Now she does cry but it never occur to me that the cream could burn girl bits. Until I decided to try it (maxi pads irritates me). My point is you don't know how babies feel. Chlorine could burn their noses or water make it harder for them to swallow

 

[CelticStar]

Do you honestly think that children would be allowed in pools if chlorine etc was harmful to them?
Do you think adults would be allowed to swim if the chemicals were harmful?

Jesus....Where has common sense gone to???

 

[deafgal]

Not harmful, just uncomfortable for the little one if you try to breastfeed in pools. Babies rarely can tell you much.Pees in chlorine willl create a chemistry that make your eyes burn.

 

[CelticStar]

I can't speak for anyone else but I personally wouldn't be doing a back stroke etc when breast feeding.... But again, how is the risk of water getting up their nose or in their mouth higher when breast feeding than when they're swimming??

For the record, I have breast fed my daughter in a pool, she didn't swallow water, she didn't inhale water whilst nursing but guess what? When we carried on her swimming lesson, she swallowed water! She coughed, she spluttered and then she carried on with no ill effects.
Is my child immune to all these harmful chemicals or are the harmful chemicals not actually that harmful??

 

[Strike]

Some have said they would feed in the pool if they had to. Really? You just heard about all these people talking about what is in the water, not to mention the chlorine, bromine, salt or whatever is used to control the pH. It's not swimming in that water that grosses me out, but what the baby might take in while nursing. At least when they are in the water "swimming" you're watching to make sure they don't drink the water. But when they are nursing there is the very high risk that some will go in.

I'm just going to pick up on this bit about what baby might swallow whilst nursing...

Okay, agreed with everything after. My LO crawls around and eats grass and it's not the end of the world.

Still doesn't address the whole safety issue of feeding at the edge of the pool. What if mom gets knocked and falls in or drops baby while preventing herself from falling or any number of scenarios? Why not just get up and go somewhere just a tad safer? Is feeding your baby right then and there really more important than making sure you are in a safe place for both of you in order to do so?

Like I said before, seems like mom was looking for a reason for someone to question her. It may not necessarily be the case, but that's what it feels like. After all, how many of us have fed at the edge/in a public pool? And how many of us got up and out and moved out of the way?

 

[CelticStar]

And I agree with your safety point which is why I didn't comment on it....I didn't find any part of it that I could argue with

I don't think I'd be comfortable sitting on the edge of the pool let alone kneeling like the woman said she was doing, although saying that, I don't think she says she was kneeling at the edge, just that she was kneeling....
Forgetting about people/children running past and knocking me, I'd be more worried about my child doing her usual nursing gymnastics and wriggling out of my arms into the water, although if I was that close to the water then she'd still have her arm bands on and often just bobs in the water without me holding on to her...
Saying that she has a part of her swimming lesson where she jumps in from the side and many times she's jumped before I've been ready and she's gone into the water on her own....
But anyway, yeah, my point is, I wouldn't be comfortable feeding at the edge of the pool.

I've thought myself that she was maybe trying to get a reaction from the staff seeing as her friend had been asked to stop feeding before.