Kate Reid tells us about support available for new parents, and Islington’s scheme to promote breastfeeding in public spaces

Hi Kate! Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

I am Islington’s breastfeeding awareness worker. I go around all venues within Islington to sign them up to the We Welcome Breastfeeding scheme. That’s all types of venues: cafes restaurants, pubs, leisure centres, children’s centres, schools – everywhere and anywhere. I ask them to display our sticker or poster in their window, and make sure all their staff are aware that it is a woman’s right to breastfeed in public spaces.

How does the We Welcome Breastfeeding scheme work?

I think lots of new mothers find it really difficult to know where to feed their babies out in public. You might feel a bit anxious – it can be quite daunting going out with a new baby at all, let alone thinking about breastfeeding in public. The scheme exists to show families that they are welcome in local venues. They can look out for the stickers in windows across the borough. The 2010 Equality Act gives women the legal right to breastfeed in public, so we want to promote that, and to give people the confidence they need to feed their baby when they’re out and about. We don’t want anyone to stop breastfeeding before they want to!

What does it mean for the venues that sign up?

It can just be as simple as being friendly when seeing a new mum coming in. Give her some time to sit down and offer a glass of water. If you can offer a private space – that isn’t a bathroom – for breastfeeding that’s great, but also completely fine if you don’t have a separate room.

Make sure your staff know that feeding parents shouldn’t be asked to move or leave in the unlikely situation that you get a complaint from another customer. It’s mostly stuff that businesses will be doing anyway, but taking part in the scheme tells new parents that they can feel comfortable in your venue – and that might bring in some extra trade, too!

What other support is available for new parents?

A good place to start is Bright Start’s baby feeding support (020 3316 8439). We have regular feeding drop-in sessions as well as one-to-one support options, antenatal workshops and access to more specialist support if needed. English might not be your first language, so we can help parents access resources in different languages.

There’s also a National Breastfeeding Helpline which is available 24 hours a day – 0300 100 0212. Support sessions can be a lifeline for new parents – whether that’s one-on-one or in a group – because they often have lots of questions and need reassurance. That’s totally normal and we have people with loads of experience who can help. It’s also a great way to meet and share experiences with other parents. Families often get chatting and end up seeing each other outside of the support sessions.

What are some of the feeding challenges that you work on with families?

Some people are just not exposed to breastfeeding before they have a baby – sometimes that’s because it’s not seen as the norm in their family and previous generations have always used formula, or they just haven’t been around babies before. So, lots of new mums don’t know what to expect or what’s normal.

Sometimes mothers can be worried that they are not producing enough milk to feed their baby, and we can help reassure them about that with information on understanding their baby’s feeding behaviours. The thing is that the mums and babies we see are still learning, so it’s common and normal for them to need some guidance on positioning and latching. There is support available for you however you are feeding and no matter what challenges you are facing.

To learn more about how Islington welcomes breastfeeding you can visit: islington.gov.uk/BreastfeedingWelcome