City pools will now be designated a ‘breastfeeding friendly’ zone.
Breastfeeding crusader and mother of a 21-month-old girl, Gemma Kelsall said the end result of speaking out against the Killarney Aquatic and Recreation Centre for not allowing her to feed her daughter in water has been worth the trouble.
“I am just happy this will be solved for once and for all and that all the pools will support our rights as mothers,” she said yesterday, adding she has received more than 100 personal emails since the saga began last week.
Kelsall said she has been given a variety of reasons for over the past year why mothers were not allowed to breastfeed in the water.
But city aquatics and recreation manager Heather Bruce said there has never been a policy against mothers breastfeeding in the water and that conflict must have been the result of a miscommunication.
“We are family friendly and we cater to families, so I am not sure what happened, but we are happy to have the conflict resolved,” Bruce said.
Bruce said all city pools will now post a “breastfeeding friendly” sign.
Not everyone is happy with the decision though, including 25-year-old Jamie Lake.
“I just think it doesn’t seem very hygienic or clean for the people around or the baby, for that matter,” she said.
