£20,000 after claiming staff broke the law by
stopping her breastfeeding her baby while in a
swimming pool .
Abbie Stocker was feeding eight-month-old
Eric in the water while a wave machine was
on when a concerned lifeguard asked her if
the would prefer to sit in a chair.
But the 27-year-old refused and claimed she
had been prevented from feeding her son
before leisure bosses were hit with legal
action a week later.
Eyewitnesses described seeing the mother-of-
two shouting at a manager, who was trying to
diffuse the row, before she stormed off to the
changing rooms.
A source said: “A lifeguard saw a mum
feeding her baby in the pool and thought she
might be more comfortable sitting on a chair.
“The wave machine was on at the time and
the waves can get pretty strong when they
reach the shore end of the pool.
“The staff member thought the baby may
become upset if hit with a wave, and was only
trying to help.”
The source added: “Abbie then began saying it
was against the law to stop a mum
breastfeeding her child in public.
“That was never the case and the centre
welcomes and supports breastfeeding mums.”
The incident occurred in May last year at
Pendle Wavelengths, Nelson, Lancs, when Eric
was eight-months-old.
Signs supporting breastfeeding are displayed
throughout the centre.
One bemused member said: “It’s is ridiculous
to think breastfeeding a child in a swimming
pool is a sensible idea.
“It’s like a child tucking into a burger and
chips while splashing about.
“If the baby had been sick, the pool would
have had to be closed, drained and it would
have been shut for days.
“It would have cost thousands and centre
bosses have to consider the health and safety
of other users, too.”
The Equality Act states it is illegal to ask a
breastfeeding woman to leave a public place.
In 2014, Abbie, from Leicester, East Midlands,
received an apology Burnley General Hospital
after she was asked to leave a waiting room
when breastfeeding Eric – then just 10 weeks
old – and go into another room.
Abbie, who still breastfeeds three-year-old
daughter Millie, said at the time she “felt
humiliated, like a naughty schoolgirl who had
been made to wait outside the headteacher’s
office.”
A spokesman for East Lancashire Hospitals
NHS Trust said it was “disappointing to hear
that our offer of a room to allow Mrs Stocker
privacy and comfort was misinterpreted on
this occasion and we are sorry for any upset.”
Last night Abbie confirmed she was suing
Wavelengths.
She said: “I can’t talk about that. The way
they handled it was not positive.
“They could have learned from it but they
chose not to.”
Abbie added: “It has happened at a few other
places but it was the way they have handled it
in a fantastic manner.
“They realised they have made the mistakes,
have learned from it and introduced policies to
stop it from happening to somebody else,
which is why I have never taken action.
“Breastfeeding women are no different to a
disabled person or a person of a different
nationality in the way you can’t discriminate
against them.”
Pendle Leisure Trust, which runs the centre,
confirmed legal action was being taken
against them.
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