A university student feels "blindsided" after being suspended for taking her newborn baby to lectures and seminars.
Leah Foster, a student at the University of Derby, says she was told by her faculty that she was able to take her son onto campus.
But the psychology student, 35, claims the university backtracked on their statement and told her she wouldn't be welcome on campus if she insisted on bringing baby Emmett to class.
She has now had to put her studies on hold, reports Derbyshire Live.
The University of Derby has begun an investigation into her case.
Mrs Foster claims the university's action against her contradicts what she was told previously, saying she was informed that there would be no problem with bringing Emmett.
But the University of Derby says it would never exclude a student because they wish to continue studying while breastfeeding, as Mrs Foster is.
However they said babies and children are not allowed into teaching sessions as they may distract other students.
Mrs Foster started to take Emmett onto campus with her but a few weeks later she got an email from her tutor asking for a meeting with the head of student services.
While this meeting - which took place in October - came out of the blue, the mum-of-two says that she thought it was going to about how they could help her accommodate her newborn in classes.
In reality, the meeting completely "blindsided" the mother.
She said she felt "felt a bit blindsided by some of the things they were saying because I was expecting to have an actual supportive chat but it wasn't supportive whatsoever.
"They did say they've received complaints but I don't see how he can be distracting in any way, if he starts to make a noise I remove myself and him from the lesson so it's no more disruptive than someone getting up and going to the toilet."
The mum-of-two went on to add: "They also said that some people have complained that they can't bring their children onto campus but I said that he's only coming with me because he's so young and he's breastfed.
"I have a two-year-old as well but he doesn't come with me because he would be two disruptive so I have different childcare arrangements for my two-year-old son but Emmett is still too young."
Despite the claims by the university, Mrs Foster says she's received nothing but compliments about how good Emmett is when he was on campus.
She added that she never been told by other students or lecturers that Emmett has been disruptive during studies.
Then, on November 3, Mrs Foster received an email from the university, stating "we understand you've continued to bring him in despite what we told you".
However, she claims she wasn't told she couldn't bring Emmett in.
She said: "I explicitly asked them, in that meeting, 'are you saying the University is telling me I cannot bring Emmett onto campus' and they didn't say no, they gave me a wishy-washy answer and referred back to the options they'd already given me."
Around November 22, Mrs Foster then received a phone call from the university telling her that she was suspended prior to an investigation.
Her suspension was due to last two weeks and she's submitted her case to the university, however, she says she is yet to hear if her suspension has been lifted or the result of the investigation.
Until that point, Mrs Foster says she has now been left in limbo and doesn't even know if she can submit any of her assignments due to the university's decision.
She adds that the whole situation has left her feeling stressed and angry, saying: "There's a lot of anxiety about how much I've missed, I actually miss going into campus and I miss my friends, I'm worried that I'm missing out on content in the seminars and workshops."
A spokesperson for the University of Derby responded to Mrs Foster's claims.
They said: "The University has not and would never exclude a student because they wish to continue studying while breastfeeding or caring for children, or because they wished to breastfeed on any of our campuses.
“We have many students who are combining studying with parenthood, and support them in every way we can, including personal support plans tailored to the individual. However, we do not permit babies and children to be brought into teaching sessions, primarily because of the disruption caused to other students.
"We have received complaints from students who have struggled to concentrate on occasions where babies and children have been present. Where students wish to keep their child or baby close and continue to study, we will always work with them to find ways to best support them while being mindful of the need to ensure a good experience and suitable learning environment for all our students.
“We are very supportive of breastfeeding, have facilities on campus to support this, and our position is clearly laid out in our Student Pregnancy, Maternity and Paternity Policy.
“With regards to this particular case, in line with our procedure, we reviewed Leah’s temporary suspension at the end of the two weeks and wrote to her on 7 December to invite her to a meeting to revisit all the options we have offered her that would allow us to end her suspension and further support her as a student parent, without impacting on the experience of other students and staff.”
