Beck Vass: I'm a mum, and I still think breastfeeding in a pool is inappropriate

Wellington City Council says barring a breastfeeding mum from its Kilbirnie pool reduces 'the chance of food or drink accidentally finding its way into the water'. Photo / 123RF

COMMENT: Just because your whole world revolves around your baby, doesn't mean ours should too, writes Beck Vass.

It seems there is a certain section of parents out there who think they are entitled to anything just because they have a baby.

In particular, some parents seem to expect the world move to mountains around them because of the apparently heroic act of breastfeeding their baby.

The woman who sparked the most recent debate was breastfeeding her 20-month-old son while standing in the shallows of the pool at Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre in Kilbirnie in May and was asked to stop because it breached the food and beverage policy.

In other words, it was inappropriate in the same way that it would be inappropriate for someone to stand in the shallows of the pool eating a sandwich (or bottle feeding a baby).

An official ban on breastfeeding in the pools was revealed yesterday, however, breastfeeding is allowed in public at the facilities – as long as it occurs out of the water.

Do we have to be outraged and behave like we are entitled to everything?

This never needed to happen in the first place.

The child was nearly two. A child that age is mostly on solid foods and is unlikely to starve or be so hungry they can't wait a few minutes for their next snack or drink.

I can't think of anything that is so urgent you can't get out of a swimming pool to do it – not even supplying precious breastmilk, which some of these crusading breastfeeders seem to think should stop the world.

We know it's amazing, we know you're amazing for doing it. We know and we agree!

But just because it's convenient for you doesn't make it convenient for everyone around you.

I faced a similar situation earlier this year when a couple changed a dirty nappy in the seats directly in front of me on a flight.

What could have waited a few minutes until we landed happened right then and there and spread so much further than it needed to.

I faced some backlash then about how inhumane it is to leave a kid sitting in a dirty nappy for 10 minutes.

But babies and toddlers do this to themselves all the time. Most people who have had a baby have experienced a "surprise poo". A few minutes is not the end of the world.

No, I am not comparing breastmilk to poo – give me a breastfeeding mother over a pooey nappy-changer on a plane any day.

But they are both situations that have the potential to affect people around you.

In the case of breastmilk, there is debate about whether breastmilk itself and/or any potential baby vomit in the pool afterwards, could contaminate the water for other swimmers.

However, it's a public pool with policies in place for a reason.

It's not about the fear of boobs, or offence taken by boobs – it's about hygiene and water cleanliness.

(As a side note, I don't know how they manage to police this policy consistently anyway when you can't really tell if a woman's boobs are leaking breastmilk in the water, however I assume as would be the case for people peeing or puking in the pool, you prevent what you can.)

It's easy to forget when you're living mum-life – full of boobs and bums and birth stories and body fluids – that all these things can be quite confronting to those who haven't been through it, or those who have and have come out the other side.

Having a baby doesn't need to occupy so much of your focus that you forget about the rest of the world – you're still living in that too.

Yes, babies and children are precious. But just because your whole world revolves around your baby, doesn't mean everyone else's should have to too.