# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![boozilu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@boozilu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boozilu)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/41 "2013-08-16T21:03:57Z")
My kids often had a nice BM during breastfeeding – I’d hate to be standing in a pool if it was a leaker! ---
**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, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/42 "2013-08-16T21:06:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Some (many? most?) babies hate to be covered and will refuse to feed under a blanket. A few, perhaps. Most babies young enough to be breastfeeding don’t really care, and might prefer to be covered in a place with lights and noises like a restaurant. I’ve used that when bottle feeding babies, with a blanket over both our heads to block out the world. Edit- not justifying the restaurant manager’s actions, just talking about infant psychology. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/43 "2013-08-16T21:07:29Z")
Oh, sure, hot young moms in bathing suits get to breast feed right in the pool, but as soon as I leer lasciviously at them, suddenly _I’m_ the jerk. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/44 "2013-08-16T21:12:30Z")
> [@boozilu](#): > > My kids often had a nice BM during breastfeeding – I’d hate to be standing in a pool if it was a leaker! If you’re concerned about being in a pool with potential human waste products, you should probably not use the toddler pool. Ever. Two of my three kids were the types that hated to be covered up. Luckily, I relatively quickly mastered the quick shirt-pull so that I was really only exposed for a second or two, and then the baby’s head was covering everything up for me. Also luckily, I was never hassled about breastfeeding in public. On topic, I’m with those who say that the mom in this story has a right to breastfeed in the pool, but perhaps should have chosen not to. My general rule of thumb was that if it was okay for my toddler to eat his lunch in a particular area, then it was okay for me to breastfeed the baby there too. Restaurant: a-ok. Public park: no problem. Swimming pool: Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/45 "2013-08-16T21:26:09Z")
Does the pool allow any other food products in the pool? Would it be all right to eat a candy bar, or drink a glass of milk? I’ll bet you anything that the answers are “No” and so in my mind, the pool was exactly right. The fact that breastfeeding was going on is not really the issue for me. Public pools are not meant for eating. Many pools don’t even allow food at pool side. As for the breastfeeding in public issue in general: My take is that breastfeeding doesn’t make you exempt from ordinary laws about clothing or indecency standards. If it’s legal to be topless in a particular area, then by all means, breastfeed without covering up. If the law requires you to cover your breasts, then cover your freaking breasts and quit asking for special treatment! A blanket is a perfectly acceptable way to breast feed in public while remaining covered up. (Note: The article I read doesn’t make it clear whether she was using something like a blanket. It could be that my only complaint about this issue is the “food in the pool” complaint rather than indecency, but I know of other cases where women seem to think that lactation puts them above the law.) ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/46 "2013-08-16T21:26:54Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Oh, sure, hot young moms in bathing suits get to breast feed right in the pool, but as soon as I leer lasciviously at them, suddenly _I’m_ the jerk. What an awesome comment in the middle of a grown up discussion. ---
**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, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/47 "2013-08-16T21:31:43Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Does the pool allow any other food products in the pool? Would it be all right to eat a candy bar, or drink a glass of milk? > > I’ll bet you anything that the answers are “No” and so in my mind, the pool was exactly right. Maybe because most of my non backyard pool experiences have been in Vegas or at resorts, the idea of no food or drinks in a pool is so foreign to me. Usually, the only real rule is no glass in the pool, but I think I’d be the saddest panda in the world if I couldn’t have some sort of rum thing with me in the pool. > [@dracoi](#): > > As for the breastfeeding in public issue in general: My take is that breastfeeding doesn’t make you exempt from ordinary laws about clothing or indecency standards. If it’s legal to be topless in a particular area, then by all means, breastfeed without covering up. If the law requires you to cover your breasts, then cover your freaking breasts and quit asking for special treatment! A blanket is a perfectly acceptable way to breast feed in public while remaining covered up. Well, I mean, it’s my contention that those laws are pretty stupid anyway. I mean, there’s nothing inherently more “wrong” with female nipples than male nipples, yet men can walk around topless all day without issue. In fact, female nipples actually serve the purpose of feeding children, so if any nipples were allowed out in the world, you’d think it’d be female nipples with babies on them. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/48 "2013-08-16T21:36:03Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > A blanket is a perfectly acceptable way to breast feed in public while remaining covered up. You can only deliver this advice once you’ve attempted it with your own kid in a public place. In my case, it was like trying to wrestle a cat in a burlap sack. Of course, if you’ve tried breastfeeding with your own child, then you’d know that what you imagine when you think of “topless woman baring her breasts” is very different from what you see when a woman is breastfeeding her infant. (Hint: If you can see her nipples, she’s doing it wrong.) ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/49 "2013-08-16T21:43:35Z")
So I saw the thread title, and my thoughts were in this order: _In_ the pool? Wouldn’t that be problematic for the baby? Wouldn’t chlorinated, peed in water be, um, unhealthy if swallowed? No, couldn’t be _in_ the pool. There’s no place to sit, it would be a pain in the ass, no one is so stupid as to not realize that it’s unhygienic for the kid. Oh. She _was_ in the actual pool. Well, she’s an idiot. Why wasn’t she sitting in a deck chair? So, to sum up – actually in the water? No, are you kidding? Please be a better parent than that. The pool staff fucked up when they told her she couldn’t nurse discretely on the deck, though. Because how is a _toilet_ any more hygienic than the pool? ---
**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, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/50 "2013-08-16T21:46:34Z")
Side note: don’t get barbell piercings if you later plan to breastfeed. Milks leaks out the sides, it’s hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/51 "2013-08-16T22:07:46Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > You can only deliver this advice once you’ve attempted it with your own kid in a public place. In my case, it was like trying to wrestle a cat in a burlap sack. > > Of course, if you’ve tried breastfeeding with your own child, then you’d know that what you imagine when you think of “topless woman baring her breasts” is very different from what you see when a woman is breastfeeding her infant. (Hint: If you can see her nipples, she’s doing it wrong.) My mother breastfed my younger brother. I was 7 and 8 during those times, so I remember it fairly well. The blanket was no problem. I have seen four women total (including my mother) breast feeding without a blanket and in every occasion, a nipple was visible for at least a short period of time, especially at the point when baby is done and moves his head. I’m not sure these women were meeting the definition of decently covered even when the baby was suckling - two of them had aureolas large enough to see around the edge of the baby’s face, and I’m pretty sure that meant they were breaking public decency rules the whole time and not just at the moments when a nipple was visible. My wife and I have discussed this. She breast fed three babies (before we were married) and she pretty much agrees with what I’ve observed. She’s of the opinion that it would be impossible to be perfectly discrete at all points of breastfeeding without the use of some kind of cover up. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/52 "2013-08-16T22:12:29Z")
> [@bufftabby](#): > > Do they typically allow other people to eat in the pool? They should follow whatever food rule they already have in place. This. If people are not allowed to eat and drink standing in the shallow end of the pool, she shouldn’t be feeding her child in the shallow end of the pool. That applies whether she’s breast feeding, bottle feeding, or if the child is holding a tippy cup herself. This should not be a referendum on breast feeding in public. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/53 "2013-08-16T22:16:55Z")
> [@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/) After seeing the picture, good for her. I think it’s obvious she’s doing it as a (legal) protest against manufacturers of baby formula. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/54 "2013-08-16T22:17:18Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > I have seen four women total (including my mother) breast feeding without a blanket and in every occasion, a nipple was visible for at least a short period of time, especially at the point when baby is done and moves his head. I’m not sure these women were meeting the definition of decently covered even when the baby was suckling - two of them had aureolas large enough to see around the edge of the baby’s face, and I’m pretty sure that meant they were breaking public decency rules the whole time and not just at the moments when a nipple was visible. Are you saying that a few moments of visible nipple by a breastfeeding mother is something society\* should\* frown upon? I think, as a race, humans have evolved far enough that we should be able to handle a stray nipple now and then if for a good cause (feeding babies). ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/55 "2013-08-16T22:23:28Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > I have seen four women total (including my mother) breast feeding without a blanket and in every occasion, a nipple was visible for at least a short period of time, especially at the point when baby is done and moves his head. I’m not sure these women were meeting the definition of decently covered even when the baby was suckling - two of them had aureolas large enough to see around the edge of the baby’s face, and I’m pretty sure that meant they were breaking public decency rules the whole time and not just at the moments when a nipple was visible. You seem to have done some study on this issue. I might suggest looking at a woman’s face when she is breastfeeding, instead of carefully scrutinizing the amount of areola she has visible around the face of the child she is currently feeding. I can’t agree that it’s reasonable to expect all women to feed their children under a cover-up (perhaps in the heat of summer, or with an infant who simply hates being covered up) simply to avoid the slim possibility that someone like yourself might be scandalized by the momentary glimpse of a nipple. (Or, heaven forfend, a bit of areola.) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/56 "2013-08-16T22:31:07Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > After seeing the picture, good for her. I think it’s obvious she’s doing it as a (legal) protest against manufacturers of baby formula. So mothers who use formula are inferior parents? Good lord what self righteous bullshit. ---
**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, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/57 "2013-08-16T22:37:06Z")
For those who know more about this subject than me (so, most of you) - when being breast fed, will the little nipper only suckle when in physical contact with the breast or do they get the idea to suckle by the sight of the nip and will suckle until they’ve had their fill? Point being I wouldn’t be bothered about the sight or possibility of a drop or two mixing in with the pool water (which has far worse things in it anyway), but as she was standing I’d be worried about her accidentally dropping the baby and it gulping down mouthfuls of chlorinated water; I’m assuming sitting and breast feeding is far easier and safer. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/58 "2013-08-16T22:40:20Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > So mothers who use formula are inferior parents? > > Good lord what self righteous bullshit. Not what I said, but hey, nice job twisting it around. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/59 "2013-08-16T22:51:39Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > two of them had aureolas large enough to see around the edge of the baby’s face, and I’m pretty sure that meant they were breaking public decency rules the whole time and not just at the moments when a nipple was visible. Breastfeeding involves naked female breasts? The horror! Won’t someone think of the children? :eek: Wait, hang on… ---
**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, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437/60 "2013-08-16T23:02:08Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Point being I wouldn’t be bothered about the sight or possibility of a drop or two mixing in with the pool water (which has far worse things in it anyway), but as she was standing I’d be worried about her accidentally dropping the baby and it gulping down mouthfuls of chlorinated water; I’m assuming sitting and breast feeding is far easier and safer. a 17-month old probably isn’t going to suck in water by accident. And I’d like to amend my earlier comments about babies eating while covered- I was talking about younger babies. A kid this old is probably not going to like being covered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-feeding-in-the-swimming-pool/666437.md?page=4)