Yet she has been labelled 'out of touch' for her views

Kelly-Rose says she would never imagine changing her child in public

Parents have even been known to pull out portable potties in shops

Pressed up against another commuter’s knees, frantically clutching the handrail as my packed train lurched towards London, my journey suddenly became even more miserable as an unmistakable odour reached my nose.

For once it wasn’t the aroma of a sweaty fellow passenger — even though the sardine-tin of a carriage meant there was an armpit just inches from my face.

Nor was it the malodorous whiff of someone’s breakfast. It was something much worse, a smell that mothers the world over recognise in an instant: baby poo.

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Malodorous whiff: Baby poo isn't something you want to smell on your journey into work

Following my nose, I peered through a throng of people to see a well-dressed, 30-something mum brazenly changing her child’s nappy on her lap, while squashed in the middle of a three-seat row.

Around her, men and women in work attire shuffled their newspapers uncomfortably, and raised their eyebrows at each other across the aisle.

The mum, however, remained nonchalant as she cleaned the child’s bottom with a wipe, replaced its nappy, and bagged up the soiled one, stuffing it into her designer baby-bag.

Not once was there so much as an embarrassed or apologetic smile, or any acknowledgement of what she was making her fellow passengers endure. And, on a stifling hot day, being in that reeking carriage was indeed a test of endurance.

I was left feeling so nauseated — not to mention outraged — that I had to move to another compartment, trying to hold my breath as I apologised and stumbled my way through the other rush-hour passengers, many grim-faced.

And no, I am not some child-free career woman who does not understand the urgency of a small baby’s needs.

I am a mum, and regularly took my son on trains and Tubes when he was still in nappies (cloth ones at that, which have none of the absorbency of disposables). But under no circumstances would I ever have found it acceptable to change him with people in such close proximity.

Although I was shocked by what I experienced on the train, it wasn’t a one-off. I have seen mothers change nappies in full view of other customers in cafes despite there being toilets with baby-change facilities mere inches away. I have even witnessed parents pull out portable potties for toddlers to use in the middle of shops.

Again, I understand that when a child needs to go, it needs to go — but there is a time and a place, and children, no matter how young, need to learn that. As do their parents.

My own child, and those of most of my acquaintances, are past the nappy-wearing stage now — my son is 11 — so I thought I would have the support of most friends and colleagues when I raised the changing-in-public issue at a dinner party, and later on Facebook.

Surely they would be as disgusted as I was at this total disregard for other people’s rights to travel or dine in a nappy-free zone?

But no. It would seem I am quite in the minority. One colleague, a father-of-two, actually said ‘shame on you’, pointing out that as a parent I should not have had a problem with the train incident. Rather, I should be filled with sympathy for the mother.

Changing time: Does a woman have the right to put her child's needs before those around her?

Video courtesy of Mothercare

Other friends — while accepting that nappy changes are not exactly a pleasant spectator sport — insisted the woman was right to put her child’s needs before the sensibilities of other passengers.

What tosh! If she could change the baby over her lap in her seat, she could have done so in the train lavatory, which was both clean and operational. Or, preferably, she could have waited the few minutes until we reached the terminus where toilets and baby-changing facilities are plentiful.

Even when I pointed out to my critics that exposing strangers to a filthy nappy in a confined space is a potential health risk, the consensus seemed to be I had the problem, not the mum.

Not impressed: Changing nappies in public is selfish and disgusting, says Kelly-Rose

When I raised the issue of the worrying implications of stripping off your child’s underwear in public, I was shouted down for being ‘paranoid’ about paedophilia.

On Facebook, I was accused of being woefully out of touch. And although my nappy changing days passed a decade ago, I can not see how this revolting new practice can be viewed as progress.

My mother, now 76, says she cannot believe the ‘parenting’ she witnesses daily, with children ‘ruling’ their parents, and lazy mums doing little to prevent their babies or children having a detrimental effect on other people.

‘In my day, you would have got off the train, found a public toilet, cleaned the baby up in private with soap and water, changed him and then continued on your way,’ she said. ‘We didn’t have baby-changing facilities — but didn’t make any fuss or have a sense of entitlement, either — and we certainly wouldn’t have done it in front of other people.”

This phenomenon is yet another example of the might of the Mummy Mafia, where, once you have given birth, you believe you have the right to override anyone else’s comfort or needs under the guise of doing what’s ‘best’ for your child. And woe betide anyone who questions you.

But of course this new breed of modern mother believes that whatever selfish act they carry out with their little prince or princess in tow is absolutely fine — because, as they will claim, baby comes first.

This could be allowing it to scream a cafe down while mum chats with her pals or taps away on her phone. Or in the case of older toddlers, letting them run amok and ruin everyone else’s meal in a restaurant while mum and dad enjoy theirs in peace.

We’ve all seen the mothers with their ridiculously oversized people carriers parking wherever they like with the excuse that they need the space to get their similarly proportioned prams from out of their boots.

I’ve watched a mother in a walk-in medical centre shout the place down demanding to see a doctor before anyone else — for herself, not her child, as it became ‘anxious’ in waiting rooms.

Baby comes first: Parents think they can get away with anything, says Kelly-Rose (posed by models)

I also overheard a bored child screaming her head off in a spa when I was trying to enjoy a relaxing massage. Her mother insisted on bringing her along because she didn’t like leaving her daughter with babysitters.

But no matter how much parents might try and dress up their actions as being about what’s best for their precious offspring, the truth is that essentially, this behaviour is actually all about lazy parenting. They are decisions made not in the best interest of the child, but to give the parents the easiest ride and the least amount of work.

Why spend time calming your child down or walking a few hundred yards to the nearest baby-changing facility when you can sit comfortably right where you are and treat onlookers to the revolting sight and smell of your beloved little bundle’s excrement?

And all this in total disregard for the fact they may be eating, or trying to enjoy a pleasant — and dare I say, fragrant — shopping expedition?

Why park a few roads away from your older child’s school or the shops and walk with your toddler when you can double-park outside and then claim you had no choice because your younger child was sleeping?