# Breast feeding in the swimming pool **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 16, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437 "2013-08-16T18:25:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/1 "2013-08-16T18:25:56Z")
A story that’s provoked strong opinions round my way, a young mother was asked to stop breast feeding in a public swimming pool; > [@](#): > > Stephanie Wilby, 22, was standing waist-deep in water in the toddler pool at the Manchester Aquatics Centre feeding her four-month-old baby Leo when the lifeguard told her to stop. > > The young mum, who was enjoying a session at the pool with her husband Alan and 17-month-old daughter Harmonie, was allegedly told by the attendant that it was ‘not hygienic’. [http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2013/08/14/mum-ordered-to-stop-unhygienic-breastfeeding-in-council-pool/](http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2013/08/14/mum-ordered-to-stop-unhygienic-breastfeeding-in-council-pool/) The young mum [said](http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/mum-told-stop-breast-feeding-5717148) of the incident; _“They made a real scene. They were saying me breastfeeding was indecent exposure. But I was covered more than most of the other swimmers. One staff member also said he would stop a man urinating in the pool and that is why they did not want me breastfeeding in the water. I should be allowed to breastfeed where I want. I felt humiliated and it was very distressing. I even asked about feeding at the side of the pool but they said that was not allowed and said I should go to the changing rooms or toilet.”_ There’s been a protest supporting the mother in question and it seems the pool has [reversed its position](http://www.manchestersmagic.co.uk/news/local/breast-feeding-in-pools/) as a result. I swim a lot and haven’t ever seen this myself, but if you were swimming in a public pool or in the place of the pool staff would you agree with breast feeding in the water or not? How hygienic (or not) is it? ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/2 "2013-08-16T18:28:42Z")
My opinion: it’s a little weird, but probably not that big of a deal. It’s not like there’s milk just going everywhere. I’d take it over a kid pissing in the pool, and that happens all the time. Saying she needs to go to the toilet to do it is just absurd. I’m guessing whoever said that doesn’t sit on the can and eat their lunch. There’s no reason it couldn’t be done poolside and everyone be relatively happy. EDIT TO ADD: I just noticed the water was only waist-deep. Now I am even more on the mom’s side. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/3 "2013-08-16T18:29:40Z")
I’m more worried about how hygienic it is for the baby. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/4 "2013-08-16T18:31:22Z")
I’m fully supportive of breast feeding in public. Having said that, doing it in the pool squigs me out a bit. I realize this is irrational. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/5 "2013-08-16T18:33:50Z")
After reading a number of stories on women who \*insist \*on breastfeeding in public, I am convinced most (if not all) simply do it for the attention. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/6 "2013-08-16T18:35:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m more worried about how hygienic it is for the baby. This is what one of the comments on the parentdish website said; that it is the chemicals and other matter that would have been present render it unsafe for the baby. Not sure how much of this is true, I must have swallowed mouthfuls of pool water over the years and am perfectly fine but then again I’m not a 4 month old infant. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/7 "2013-08-16T18:36:03Z")
Breastmilk is a bodily fluid and is treated as such by healthcare workers. She should have hopped up on the side of the pool out of the water. Edit- > [@](#): > > EDIT TO ADD: I just noticed the water was only waist-deep. Now I am even more on the mom’s side. Oh. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/8 "2013-08-16T18:39:13Z")
Do they typically allow other people to eat in the pool? They should follow whatever food rule they already have in place. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/9 "2013-08-16T18:48:45Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > After reading a number of stories on women who \*insist \*on breastfeeding in public, I am convinced most (if not all) simply do it for the attention. Yeah, I hate when uppity ass babies _insist_ on eating. It’s like, hello? We’re not all here to just cater to your needs, little squirming pink thing. I am convinced that most (if not all) simply do it for the attention. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/10 "2013-08-16T18:55:28Z")
> [@bufftabby](#): > > Do they typically allow other people to eat in the pool? They should follow whatever food rule they already have in place. Are you saying all the other swimmers should get to breastfeed from Stephanie too? ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/11 "2013-08-16T18:56:33Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I’m fully supportive of breast feeding in public. > > Having said that, doing it in the pool squigs me out a bit. I realize this is irrational. Ditto this. No issues whatsoever with public breastfeeding. But even in a waist-high toddler pool, I can’t quite get behind that. Even if she were sitting on the edge with only her legs in the water, that would somehow be a little more acceptable to me. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/12 "2013-08-16T18:58:35Z")
I’d think it was odd if someone was enjoying a Little Debbies snack cake while standing waist deep in water. Or drinking a Diet Coke. So, yeah, I feel the same way about breast feeding. If you want to eat (or drink), get out of the pool. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/13 "2013-08-16T19:00:41Z")
this is outrageous. what kind of toddler pool is waist deep for an adult? ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/14 "2013-08-16T19:10:24Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Yeah, I hate when uppity ass babies _insist_ on eating. It’s like, hello? We’re not all here to just cater to your needs, little squirming pink thing. I am convinced that most (if not all) simply do it for the attention. I don’t think anywhere near to most mothers do it for attention, but there is certainly a strident minority who do. Like [this lady.](http://www.babble.com/baby/viral-breastfeeding-photo-minnesota-mom-nurses-in-front-of-enfamil-baby-formula-table/) ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/15 "2013-08-16T19:15:26Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > I don’t think anywhere near to most mothers do it for attention, but there is certainly a strident minority who do. Like [this lady.](http://www.babble.com/baby/viral-breastfeeding-photo-minnesota-mom-nurses-in-front-of-enfamil-baby-formula-table/) So? ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/16 "2013-08-16T19:16:51Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > So? So they tend to color our impressions of all those who claim, “I should be able to do it _ **wherever I want** _!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/17 "2013-08-16T19:17:03Z")
I’m female, childless, have zero problem with mothers who breastfeed anywhere, yet it would gross me out to see a woman breastfeeding a baby in a pool. I’d think that the mother’s skin must taste like chlorine to the baby if she’d already dunked herself in the water, and the thought of breast milk leaking into the pool squicks me right out. That being said: if the mother was sitting in a chair poolside breastfeeding? No problem. It’s just her being in the water itself that skeeves me out. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/18 "2013-08-16T19:19:08Z")
I feel like I’d rather she sat on the edge, but I can’t explain why, so I guess that’s silly. Having breastfed, I can say that the milk doesn’t really go anywhere but in the baby. And considering how gross pools are in general, even if it did drip a bit it would be cleaner than everything else. I mean, look, those swim diapers? You can’t tell me those things aren’t leaking germs all over the damn place. I don’t know why you’d _want_ to breastfeed standing in a toddler pool, it sounds uncomfortable. But if she wants to, she should be allowed to. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/19 "2013-08-16T19:20:23Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#): > > I don’t know why you’d _want_ to breastfeed standing in a toddler pool, it sounds uncomfortable. So she didn’t have to go back to the changing room to pee. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/20 "2013-08-16T19:21:10Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > So they tend to color our impressions of all those who claim, “I should be able to do it _ **wherever I want** _!!!” But they _ **should** _ be able to breastfeed wherever they want. :dubious: Reactionary misogynists who complain about everything women do color my impressions of those who would try to restrict mothers from feeding their babies in the most natural, healthful, sanitary way possible. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437.md?page=2)