I got an interesting call today that I wanted to share with all of you. I am clearly playing both sides of the field on this issue and am interested in what you might think.  I have a friend who works for an organization that offers swimming lessons to babies and moms.  It seems a group of women with babies between 6-12 months were taking a 30 minute class and began to nurse their babies in the middle of the class, in the swimming pool.  The instructor became very upset and left the pool area.  One of the mothers called the agency to complain about the instructor leaving the pool.  The director spoke to the instructor and after finding out the event that lead to the leaving of the pool by the instructor tried to find a workable compromise for the mother.  He told her he would provide a place to sit and extra towels by the side of the pool for the moms who wanted to nurse and felt they would be more comfortable nursing outside the water.  He told me that he was concerned abou!
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body fluids in the pool and about a baby possibly aspirating chlorinated water.  The mother was very upset and asked for a refund, which she was given.  The director wants to write a policy in case this happens again.

My opinion to him was that the NYS law allows breastfeeding in any place a mother and baby are otherwise permitted to be.  (I faxed him a copy of the law).  I told him he really didn't have a leg to stand on and he should just write a policy allowing breastfeeding in the pool.  I also told him that the issue of body fluids surely wouldnt be a problem in a chlorinated pool.  If it were, women wouldnt be allowed to swim if they were nursing because lots of women experience a MER when shocked by the cold water (I DID!) and I had a lot more problem with the babies (and their parents) urinating in the pool than breastmilk. We talked about discretion and about cultural acceptance-or lack of acceptance of breasts in public.  However,in this safe environment....what do you all think?  Is it unreasonable to expect a baby to wait 15 or 20 minutes to nurse?  Or for the mom  to sit on the side of the pool until the baby is ready to go back in after nursing?  What about the idea of teach!
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g a child that it's best not to swim and eat at the same time (the director mentioned this)?  Of course, swimming is stressful and babies sometimes need the comfort of nursing when under stress, but would it have been better to leave the pool?  The instructor felt she was simply trying to make a point. Legality aside, I kind of think this is a mother making much adu about nothing.  What ever happened to dignified, descrete nursing?  Yes, it is fine to nurse anywhere, but is it ok to simply "bare a breast" anywhere, anytime, without regard to the comfort (albeit perhaps irrational) of others in a public arena?  They were not suggesting she go to a ladies room or even into the locker room, just to the side of the pool and throw a towel over her shoulder.  What is your opinion?

Please cc me privately-I am so behind on my mail!!

TIA
Barbara Leshin-Zucker, IBCLC
Highland Mills, NY