Concerns associated with breastfeeding in public (such as embarrassment, and negative public attitudes) have been identified as one of the key barriers to breastfeeding. One of the standards to achieve the Baby Friendly Initiative is to provide women with information about places locally where breastfeeding is known to be welcomed. Our local project aims to encourage more businesses to become baby friendly and promote breastfeeding on their premises.
We aim to approach local businesses about their willingness to become baby friendly. Once agreement has been reached, a sticker identifying that ‘breastfeeding is welcome’ will be displayed. Lists of baby friendly premises will be provided to all women who have had a baby, and updated lists will be available on the project’s web page.
An art competition to design the baby friendly premises sticker was been launched in March 2008, with the aim of getting local engagaement and local involvement to help design a sticker that is eye catching, and includes the words ‘breastfeeding is welcome’. The entries were viewed at an event at Thornton Children's Centre in May, where key community personnel including a local councillor, local business owners, Baby Friendly Champions from the community and members of the Baby Friendly Project Board as well as local voluntary sector breastfeeding workers and breastfeeding mums, judged the entries to find a winner for each age category and an overall winner. The prizes were awarded at an informal ceremony at Blackpool's Shokk Children's Gym during May's Breastfeeding Awareness Week. Our overall winner was 10 year old James from Blackpool. The complete sticker design will be uploaded here once it is finished and stickers will be available upon request.
If you require any further information about this competition or the regular Art Competiton held annually in the area to commemorate Nations Breastfeeidng Awareness Week, please contact Jo Hankinson, Star Buddies Co-ordinator on 07754718000 or via jo@starbuddies.co.uk
In order to inform the work going forward and ensure that anything produced will be relevant and useful to breastfeeding Mums AND to local businesses, a survey to gather opinion has been launched. You can download the survey in our DOWNLOADS section to complete on paper and send back to our researcher at UCLAN, or by the miracles of modern technology you can click this link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=oXpGR15xN0Fnn1OM5BGxiw_3d_3d to complete an online version and submit from the comfort of your pc!
If you require more information about the 'Breastfeeding Welcome' sticker and the "Breastfeeding Outside the Home' Inititative, then please contact the Communications Team for the project, via comms@nwnwbabyfriendly.org.uk