‘Breast-feed here’ signs will go up in shops supporting NHS scheme
Published: 26th November, 2010
by TERRY MESSENGER
SIGNS welcoming breast-feeding women will go up around Islington if a local NHS campaign proves successful.
Health chiefs want nursing mothers to feel comfortable in shops, businesses and public places. Venues subscribing to the Breast Feeding Welcome Scheme will display posters and stickers “so that a mother wishing to breast-feed will know she is welcome there.
An NHS Islington spokeswoman said: “This could make all the difference between whether a mother continues to breast-feed or not.”
A national survey has revealed that 63 per cent of nursing mothers have “been on the receiving end of unsupportive comments” while breast-feeding in a public place. The NHS recommends that babies be fed exclusively on breast milk for the first six months of their lives.
Breast-feeding has been shown to reduce diarrhoea, vomiting, respiratory infection, asthma and eczema.