Eastleigh Borough Council has been working with Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust to promote breastfeeding for mums in the area as it’s shown to benefit the health of the baby and mother.
Businesses in the area have started displaying a distinctive sticker in the window of their premises to tell mothers that they are welcome to breastfeed their child at that venue.
Southern Health and Eastleigh Borough Council are working to promote the Breastfeeding Welcome Scheme in the area and hope to expand it to a wider area and into the New Forest.
Southern Health’s Health Visitors work with new mums and dads to help promote breastfeeding and give advice and support to families. Tanya Iatrou is a Health Visitor, she says, “Breastfeeding is a great way to support your child and help them get the best start in life. In Hampshire we really want to give our next generation of people the healthiest foundation. At the moment 85% of mums breastfeed newborns, but that drops off to 45% after six to eight weeks. We need to try to give women every encouragement and support to carry on breastfeeding as long as they want to, and this scheme will hopefully make it easier for them.”
Cabinet Lead for Health Councillor Cathie Fraser said, “The Council is pleased to be helping to raise awareness about breastfeeding and its benefits. It’s not about telling people what to do, but creating the right environment for the wellbeing of all our residents. I look forward to seeing more cafes and restaurants around the borough joining our breastfeeding welcome scheme this summer.”
To celebrate the milestone of fifty venues signing up for the Breastfeeding Welcome scheme mums, babies, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust Health Visitors and staff from Eastleigh Borough Council will be holding a photo call at The Artisan Coffee House and Bar, 25 High Street in EastleighSO50 5LF at 12.00pm on Wednesday 15 August 2012. There will be an opportunity to talk to mums and staff about the scheme.
NHS Research has shown that the main reasons mums stop breast feeding are; there isn’t enough accessible help once they have left hospital and that mums feel that they can’t breastfeed outside the privacy of their home.
Having Health Visitors support families in their homes once they leave a maternity unit, and having places that make it easy to breast feed in public should help overcome these concerns.
Breastfeeding facts
Breastfed babies have a smaller chance of;
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Being obese and developing diabetes when they are older
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Getting ear, chest and tummy bugs with hospitalisation as a result
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Developing eczema
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Being fussy about new foods
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Being constipated
Mums benefit as;
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Breastfeeding lowers the risk of cancer of the breast and ovaries
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Breastfeeding naturally uses up about 500 extra calories a day so mums who breastfeed often find it easier to lose their pregnancy weight
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It saves money- formula feeding can cost as much as £45 a month
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It’s a lot less hassle- there is no need to clean and sterilise bottles, boil kettles and wait for milk to cool every few hours during the day and night
To join the scheme, or for a full list of participating venues, then please contact breastfeeding@eastleigh.gov.uk or visit www.eastleigh.gov.uk/breastfeeding
Press release 6 August 2012
