Mum and baby room, Cabot Square shopping centre, Docklands, East London

The proposed legislation to make BF in public a legal right is, IMO, a great idea, as then I won't feel so exposed (ha!) when people shoot me evil glances and look disgusted at me. I can sit in a shopping centre and feel vindicated feeding my baby in public. At the moment, I feel, often,like I have to seek out a mum and baby room, and tbh, the need for a nappy change often means a feed and a poo happens together anyway. BUT i do fear that making it legal to feed in public will ofer just anoher get out clause for planners to "forget" their mums and babies, and the little space they do allocate could well get even less. As it is, the mums and babies rooms are often just cupboards or glorified loos.

As is the case with this one. This shopping centre is posh. It is so posh it has a Waitrose and a M&S food. It sells a lifestyle, and Ted Baker shirts. It sits there like a big glossy carbuncle built on commerce and 2p a day wages to some poor sod in the Phillipines paid to sew Gaps tops. The people out on a Saturday shopping there spend a LOT of money. It's near my DP's work, so we had our haircuts booked there. I wandered around it. It was like an alien culture compared to Hackney. A loaf of bread in the bakery cost £3.00. The shopping centre is clean and glossy and shiny and everyone was flicky haired and gorgeous, holding hands ina couply way and smiling "aren't we so lucky to be in Docklands roght now in our lovely outfits".

Unless you are a mum, in which case, you are still shoved in a loo to feed your baby. And the locks won't work properly either. So, I can spend a fortune, but I have to sit in a room with a loo in it, a lock that doesn't work so I have to shout "occupied" twice as someone tries to use the room (not for changing, for peeing, and men, not women). The chair is obviously an afterthought squished into the gap between the loo and the sink and an outcast from some back room with fag butt burns on the seat. The changing unit is clean and functional though, and the room is clean. There's a machine sellingnappies, although there's a Boots nearby. It's just a room to sit in. It's obvious this shopping centre thinks "Mums: they don't spend much do they? At least, not in this bit of London. They don't have city jobs. Screw them then, shove them in the disabled loo space".

And yet, if they put in a nice room, nice chairs etc, bit of nice lighting and some water, we'd linger. We might think about saving up for a treat there and use the posh centre a bit.But we're not worth it.