Apology to mum breastfeeding in pool

A new mum from Northamptonshire says she was made to feel ashamed when a lifeguard asked her to stop breastfeeding her son in a swimming pool.

Holly Mayes - who's 21 - started nursing four-month-old Vincent in the water at Billing Aquadrome on Friday. But she says a member of staff asked her to stop because it was making other people feel uncomfortable and was unhygienic.

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A breastfeeding group in Northamptonshire has defended a mum who was asked to stop breastfeeding in a swimming pool.

Holly Mayes from Northamptonshire says a lifeguard at Billing Aquadrome asked her to go into the changing rooms.

Esther Stimpson, Co-chair, Northamptonshire Breastfeeding Alliance, said: "With regards to the hygiene aspect, breast milk really is the last thing we should be worrying about in a swimming pool.

"Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers will be lactating anyway and could leak milk into the pool at any time.

"Babies can be sick at any time, not just if they're breast-fed, so for us it's not a concern. The baby was being comforted and reassured and being fed at the same time."

A mum who was asked to stop breastfeeding in a swimming pool in Northamptonshire said she was made to feel "ashamed".

Holly Mayes said: "I felt like I was ashamed because I felt like I was being made to feel like I was doing something wrong, and I wasn't. I was doing something that was natural and I wanted to do it for my baby."

Nick Allen, general manager of Billing Aquadrome said: "As a family friendly leisure location it's the most natural thing in the world, of course we'll support that, it was purely on a health and safety background that we advised her she maybe better off actually breastfeeding outside of the pool."

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A holiday park in Northamptonshire has apologised to a mum after she was asked to stop breastfeeding her baby in their swimming pool.

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