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A mother's right to breastfeed in public
I welcome the report about
breastfeeding in public by the
Brighton and Hove City Primary
Care Trust (The Argus, April 30).
I ran the Booby Prize campaign to
promote breastfeeding in public
when I worked as campaign
manager for NCT (formerly the
National Childbirth Trust) in 2006. I
asked mothers to tell me about their
experiences, both good and bad, of
breastfeeding in public.
While there were many positive
tales, there were also many horror
stories. I heard how breastfeeding
mothers had been told to get off
buses and trains, thrown out of
cafés and shops and asked to move
from public spaces, including park
benches, because staff or security
guards thought it inappropriate to
breastfeed in public. These experiences
were upsetting to both
mother and baby.
It's hardly surprising then, that
breastfeeding rates in this country
are among the lowest in Europe.
We need a national breastfeeding
strategy that incorporates public
education, greater investment in
midwives and health visitors and
more support for voluntary sector
organisations who we rely on heavily
to help breastfeeding mothers,
such as the breastfeed drop-in at
Hanover Community Centre.
Often all mothers need is a positive
attitude from people around
them, a quiet space, a chair and a
glass of water. These simple things
are easy to provide and will enable
breastfeeding mothers to offer their
babies nutrients to protect them
from a variety of infections and
allergies, reducing their risk of diabetes
and obesity.
Breastfeeding Awareness Week
takes place from May 11-17 and I
hope that shops, services, cafés and
coffee bars across Brighton and
Hove will take part.
Nancy Platts,
Labour parliamentary candidate for
Brighton Pavilion
2:17pm Thursday 1st May 2008
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