Everybody Out of the Pool!!

Just in case you thought you had read the last breastfeeding blog from me, be warned, here comes another. But, don't worry,  it doesn't involve me...just my ever-present opinions. 

There was a news story in the Toronto Star yesterday about a woman who was asked leave a public pool because she was breastfeeding. This woman is asking the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal to look into it, and on the surface I would think...rightfully so. Right now, there is a huge "Anytime, Anywhere" breastfeeding campaign going in this region and surely this is exactly what they mean.

Really?

Here's the story: the woman was in the pool talking to a group of friends when her 20-month-old daughter started to get fussy, so she moved to the steps of the pool to breastfeed her daughter there. The female (and coincidentally pregnant) owner of the pool, asked the woman if she would mind moving to the change room or the viewing area where she might be "more comfortable". And thus begins yet another war....

Now, legality aside, there are some key words above that make me pause. Those words are public pool; 20-month-old; steps. 

Come ON. 

First of all, why would anyone, legally able or not, WANT to feed her baby (ahem, toddler) in a public pool that probably has  seen more pee than a Yonge St parking garage stairwell? Mix that pee (and God knows what else) with pool chemicals and that DOES sound like a nutritious, tasty meal.  It reminds me of the time we dropped Kieran's soother on the floor of The Brick. I WANTED to give it to him so we could continue shopping in peace, but didn't because that would have been gross. Perhaps if I had scraped my boob across the floor and fed him in the doorway that would have been more acceptable?

Secondly, was the 20-month-old THAT hungry that she could not wait to be removed from the pool? She's not exactly a newborn, nor even a baby. Not to criticize her parenting...well, YES, I'm going to criticize her parenting! How about telling the girl, "not right now, Mommy is in the pool talking to her friends?"

And finally, the pool STEPS. Convenient for you perhaps, but for the other pool users, perhaps not so much. 

This mother said she felt ashamed and embarrassed to be singled-out and asked to leave, but I can tell you right now, that although I support breastfeeding 100 per cent, I think this woman is an oddball. 

Normally, because I was far too cowardly to even think about public breastfeeding,  I consider those who do as brave. In a bathing suit it would border on heroic since there is no scenario I can imagine where this can be done discreetly. (Which, by the by, I'm sure is a main part of the reason why the woman was asked to leave and the ick-factor just a lucky defense.)

There are of course, people who feel quite strongly on both sides of the issue. Lots of supporters are saying things like "this never would have happened if she was bottle-feeding." Well, probably not, because unless she had the bottle hidden up her tankini, she would have had to leave the pool to go get it and I would HOPE would not go back to the pool steps to bottle feed her child. 

No, in my oh-so-humble opinion, human rights violation or not, it just seems like outright self-centredness on the mother's part. Surely the only person benefitting from the "pool steps breastfeed" was the woman herself...after all, she didn't have to cut the conversation with her friends short to deal with her child. It was not to the benefit of the daughter, who probably has been fed in warmer, cleaner and more comfortable places in her day. Obviously, the pool owner is not benefitting...her pool is now the site of pro-breastfeeding demonstrations. 

I would even be surprised if the greater good, which is to say, the generalized acceptance of public breastfeeding, will be served.  I'm sure advocates would be happier if the woman championing their cause was a teensy bit wiser but then again, they probably don't care since any publicity is good publicity.

Anytime, anywhere, indeed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to feed Kieran his lunch. In a rest stop bathroom. On the floor. Its legal. And delicious.