Mum told to stop breastfeeding in pool gets free membership and apology after petition
A mum who was ordered from a pool for breastfeeding has received a free, year-long membership from the leisure centre after her petition received more than 1,100 signatures.
Alicia Saenz de Tejada, of Waldegrave Road, Crystal Palace, was attending Beckenham Spa Pool – run by Mytime Active – on August 1, when she began breastfeeding her five-month-old baby, Olivia.
But a lifeguard asked the 33-year-old to leave the pool if she wished to continue, even though it is legal to breastfeed in public.
Ms Saenz de Tejada said Mytime Active have since apologised for causing offence.
She said: “I was not angry, I was just a bit shocked because I was not expecting it.
“I went to ask the receptionist and he said that breastfeeding was not allowed in the adult or children’s pool because of other children.
“I didn’t really know how to react so I went home.”
Ms Saenz de Tejada said she worried that some mothers could have had their confidence knocked by being spoken to in such a manner.
She said: “When you’re a new mum your hormones are all over the place and you don’t handle confrontation well. You don’t want to be told off when you’re feeling vulnerable.”
When she got home, Ms Saenz de Tejada messaged her group chat of mums about what happened and they explained that it was illegal to ban breastfeeding in public.
One of the mums in the group chat, Emily Harper, has been an NHS breastfeeding peer supporter for more than three years. She is also the founder of It Takes A Village Crystal Palace, a community group where mothers meet in a community centre in winter and outdoors in the summer to breastfeed together.
Ms Harper said: “Most people are aware of the rights of breastfeeding women to feed anywhere in public and that it is something to be celebrated, not shamed.
“Occasionally these incidents crop up – because they are so rare it feels all the more shocking when they do.”
Ms Harper helped Ms Saenz de Tejada set up a change.org petition which received 1200 signatures in just a few days.
After the petition, the operations director at My Time Active, Steven May, sent a formal apology to Ms Saenz de Tejada and said staff policy and training would be updated across all the companies leisure centres. He also offered Ms Saenz de Tejada a free, year long membership to three of the companies leisure centres.
Ms Saenz de Tejada said she was grateful for the apology, but she is concerned that the incident is symptomatic of a broader issue.
She said: “A lot of people don’t understand that when a baby is this young they need to be breastfed because they can’t have water.
“It takes a lot of emotional space to drive your baby while crying to any activity, then to get them changed makes you even more tired, you have to be mentally prepared otherwise things like this could ruin your morning”.
According to a survey by UNICEF from 2010, the UK has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world with eight out of 10 women stopping before they want to.
Ms Harper said: “Part of this is down to underfunded public services and difficulties in accessing skilled breastfeeding support once mothers leave hospital.
“There is still an outdated perception that breastfeeding is something to be done behind closed doors.
“There is a need for increased awareness and respect for the rights of breastfeeding mothers to feed their babies anywhere they choose, and it’s crucial that local facilities and businesses make it a priority to establish safe, inclusive environments for all families.”
My Time Active has been approached for comment.
Pictured top: Alicia Saenz de Tejada with her baby Olivia (Picture: Alicia Saenz de Tejada)