Breastfeeding mother told 'no food or drink by the pool'

A mother was ordered to stop breastfeeding her baby next to a swimming pool because of rules banning "food and drink" in the area.

By John Bingham
Published: 6:05PM BST 18 May 2009

Laura Whotton, 26, was rebuked by a staff member at the John Carroll Leisure Centre in Nottingham when she tried to feed her 11-week-old son, Joshua.

Mrs Whotton, from the Carrington area of the city, said that she was trying to feed the boy while also keeping an eye on her four-year-old son, Thomas, who was swimming.

Nottingham City Council blamed "confusion" over the wording of the rules for the centre and has apologised to the young mother.

Mrs Whotton told the Nottingham Evening Post: "People in bikinis were showing more skin and breast than I was."

She added: "When it happened, it made me feel angry. It could put people off going swimming."

But regulations have been redrafted over the weekend to make clear that breastfeeding is allowed and new guidelines have been issued to staff.

A spokeswoman for the council said: "Nottingham City Council actively encourages and supports nursing mothers to breastfeed in all our centres and was one of the first local authorities to provide guidance in support of a mother's right to breastfeed.

"We have clarified the policy at our leisure centres to make it absolutely clear that someone breastfeeding should not be treated the same as someone who is eating and drinking in the swimming pool areas."

The Government's new Equality Bill, currently before the House of Commons, includes new measures to enshrine the right of mothers to breastfeed in public places.

Last year Charlotte Church, the singer, added her support to a campaign to encourage mothers in Wales to breastfeed their babies.

Mum banned from breastfeeding at poolside for breaching food and drink rules

By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 12:21 AM on 19th May 2009

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A mother was told to stop breastfeeding because she was contravening a leisure centre's poolside food and drink ban.

Laura Whotton began feeding her three-month-old son Joshua after they had a swim together, because he was hungry and starting to cry.

Both had towels draped around them as they sat on a bench by the poolside. But a male lifeguard spotted them and marched over to question Mrs Whotton.

Ban: Laura Whotton was stopped from breastfeeding her son at John Carroll Leisure Centre in Nottingham

The mother of two said she had taken care to cover up and he had to ask her: 'Are you breastfeeding?' She was then told: 'You are in a public area, you can't breastfeed because there are children here.'

The shocked mother explained she was entitled to 'by law' and told him she was not indecent and not offending anyone.

She was offered a 'private room' to breastfeed Joshua but refused because she was keeping an eye on her four-year-old son Thomas, who was swimming in a nearby toddler's pool.

When the lifeguard refused to back down, she decided to leave the leisure centre.

Mrs Whotton, 26, of Carrington in Nottingham, said: 'I felt really angry at being treated like that.

'I wasn't embarrassed because I didn't have anything on show. People in bikinis were showing more skin and breast than I was.

'It's the most natural thing in the world - and I was made to feel like I was doing something terrible.

'I've fed my baby on the bus and on a tram and in McDonald's. If he needs feeding I will do it.'

The John Carroll Leisure Centre, where a lifeguard said a mum should stop breastfeeding by the pool

The incident happened on a Saturday afternoon earlier this month at the John Carroll Leisure Centre in Nottingham.

Mrs Whotton, who is married to Craig, 26, a hire car driver, lodged a complaint with Nottingham City Council.

A spokesman for the local authority said: 'The council's policy is to enable mothers to breastfeed in all council centres, including leisure centres.

The only exception to this rule at leisure centres is in the swimming pool and surrounding area, where, in the interests of safety and hygiene, there is a policy of no food or drink.

This rule also covers breastfeeding, as it would the bottle feeding of a baby.'

Now the council has given her a 'full and open apology' and has 'reviewed and amended' its breastfeeding policy.

Operations manager Lee Kimberley told her the lifeguard at the pool was 'acting in accordance-with current policy'.

But he added: 'The manner in which it was done was not appropriate.'

Breastfeeding mothers are to get extra legal protection by the Equality Bill, which will become law next year if passed by Parliament.

This will give them the right to breastfeed a child in any public place and protect them from being forced out of cafes and shops.

It is being introduced after campaigners argued the rights were not clearly outlined or properly enforced under existing law.

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