Hikin' Mama Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Breastfeeding conference organizers don't want moms to breastfeed at conference: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/mothers-prevented-from-breastfeeding-their-children-at-a-conference-designed-to-promote-breastfeeding-9992672.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Geesh that's weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I know the spin the article gave it, but did the organizers mean it wasn't designed to accommodate the actual babies? I'm all for public nursing and have done it with 4 kids now, but no way would I take any of mine to a conference. (Take one to the venue and have someone else keep it outside and feed in the hallways or non-speaking areas? Sure!) None has been one of those quiet, snuggly, babe in arms ideal infants. Being stuck in a room with a hundred nursing/crying/screaming babies while trying to hear and concentrate on speakers? Sounds like sheer hell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Most conferences don't plan to accommodate infants, I think that was the issue here--not the breastfeeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 I know the spin the article gave it, but did the organizers mean it wasn't designed to accommodate the actual babies? I'm all for public nursing and have done it with 4 kids now, but no way would I take any of mine to a conference. (Take one to the venue and have someone else keep it outside and feed in the hallways or non-speaking areas? Sure!) None has been one of those quiet, snuggly, babe in arms ideal infants. Being stuck in a room with a hundred nursing/crying/screaming babies while trying to hear and concentrate on speakers? Sounds like sheer hell! I didn't think of that and you could be right. The part of the article Danae quoted in the top of her post was what made me think it was the breastfeeding that was the issue. But, yes, it might be hard to accomodate a bunch of babies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 "A number of women with babies who requested to attend the event, however, complained after they were told the venue was "not designed to accommodate" breastfeeding," That's the great thing about breastfeeding, though . . . it doesn't actually need special venue accommodations. <snip> Yeah, to say they can't accommodate breastfeeding doesn't make sense. I suspect what they meant was they can't accommodate infants. I nursed in public places but I doubt I would have taken my infant to any sort of conference where quiet attention for long periods of time was required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 DP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 If you read the article it sounds like the conference was organized for health professionals, but then a bunch of breastfeeding mothers requested to attend with their infants. Seems to me the organizers are actually bending over backwards to accommodate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Also, it seems the original response was to a woman asking for special dietary accommodations because she was breastfeeding. Not sure what accommodations she wanted (extra snacks?) but that kind of puts the "we're not set up to accommodate breastfeeding" in a different light--at least one mom was in fact asking for some kind of special accommodation specifically because of breastfeeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Also, it seems the original response was to a woman asking for special dietary accommodations because she was breastfeeding. Not sure what accommodations she wanted (extra snacks?) but that kind of puts the "we're not set up to accommodate breastfeeding" in a different light--at least one mom was in fact asking for some kind of special accommodation specifically because of breastfeeding. This was what stood out to me, and the subject line for this thread doesn't match what the article describes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Also - one of the changes the organizers made to accommodate them was to increase their baby changing areas so it wasn't totally about breastfeeding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 This was what stood out to me, and the subject line for this thread doesn't match what the article describes. You're right. It really doesn't. : / That's what happens when you read an article and post about it before coffee. :) When I began reading the article, which a breastfeeding advocate and author friend of mine posted on FB, I just assumed that it happened in the US. When I saw that it was in Europe I was kind of shocked, because I thought they were more advanced (for lack of a better word) on the issue. So my brain was fixated on the public breastfeeding issue, rather than the fact that the conference space wasn't set up for babies. And again...I was pre-coffee. This is one of the reasons I love the Hive. Some days my brain is stuck in a little rut of its own making and someone here pulls it out. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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