Why local mums feel they can't breastfeed in public

×

Expand

Breastfeeding is indisputably best for babies. So why don’t more Surrey mothers do it? Food for thought, says Samantha Laurie.

This article has been republished following the BBC News story that a sign in Surrey cafe Tillings in Gomshall suggested mums breastfeed in the toilet. A picture of the sign - which said "we reserve the right to ask groups of breastfeeding mothers to use this facility instead of feeding at the table" - was posted on Facebook (from BBC news)

Mid-morning, in a café in Surrey, and the tables are full of well-heeled young mums with buggies, toddlers and changing bags. As one settles down to feed her squeaking newborn, out comes a nursing cover – a neck to waist apron – and the baby is squirreled away beneath it. Another follows suit, but all that can be seen is a tiny pair of thrashing feet. All around me – quietly, self-consciously, furtively – mums breastfeed babies under wraps.

Hooter hiders – as they are charmingly known in the US, whence they recently arrived – may be just a commercial wheeze for an activity sorely lacking in marketing opportunities, but they do highlight how completely cock-eyed is the entire business of breastfeeding.

As anyone who has breastfed in public will tell you, you have to be looking pretty hard to spot even the tiniest flash of breast. But what you do learn from seeing other mums openly feeding is that it’s as normal as having a coffee. Moreover, it is from seeing other mums hold, rock and feed babies that you learn how to do it yourself.

Every scintilla of medical evidence shows breastfeeding to be the best nutrition for babies. The immunity it imparts against common childhood illness – chest and gastro infections in particular – offers dramatic public health benefits: UNICEF research indicates that if every four-month-old in the UK were breastfed, it would halve the number of emergency hospital admissions for kids under one. Every month of breastfeeding brings a 30% dip in the likelihood of a trip to A&E.

And yet we have one of the lowest rates for this activity in the world – just 1% of mums meet government guidelines to breastfeed exclusively until six months. Only one third are doing so at all by then – 45% stop before six weeks.

The reasons are complex and differ geographically. In much of Surrey, initiation is high – over 80% of mothers begin to breastfeed. But they fail to get adequate support to help them establish effective and comfortable feeding, or are quickly forced to give up because of painful breasts, poor latching on or the (often false) perception that their milk supply is inadequate. All of which, say experts, can be overcome with properly trained one-to-one support.  

Learning to breastfeed is a skill. Many women have never seen a baby being breastfed (thanks, hooter hiders) and have little grasp of how such babies behave, feed and grow. As that body of knowledge has been lost to communities, mums can only turn to health professionals. Yet many of the biggest maternity hospitals in the UK lack even a single infant feeding advisor. Instead, overworked midwives must step in. If obstacles arise – as with the 10% of babies with tongue-tie, which makes feeding hard – they are rarely found by pediatric discharge check. Moreover, with few NHS services in Surrey offering the quick, simple tongue-tie surgery, many mums turn to bottle feeding instead.

Yet instead of feeling let down, Brits generally feel that they have failed if they cannot breastfeed. Every debate is an emotional vortex of guilt and shame – breastfeeders against bottle feeders. When the Government trialled a scheme offering food vouchers to encourage breastfeeding in low-income groups, historically reluctant to breastfeed, there was no debate as to whether or not monetary incentives for healthy lifestyles work (they generally don’t) – just a collective spluttering about the unfairness to women who ‘choose’ not to breastfeed.

Choice is great, but only if it is informed – and that means trained support within the critical first five days. At West Middlesex – one of the few hospitals to have achieved full Baby Friendly accreditation from UNICEF, gold standard for breastfeeding – all mums see a trained specialist. In Kingston, a team of community feeding advisors – funded by the health visitor service – is proving effective. But in many areas, support is entirely down to the voluntary sector – such as the NCT – or private lactation consultants.

However, it’s changing the wider cultural picture that is the biggest task. In countries such as Norway, where breastfeeding is the norm, formula milk is prescription only. Yet Britain continues to allow TV ads for ‘follow-on’ milk and the formula industry is a key player in the media debate. Breastfeeding rarely appears in popular TV shows; women are still asked to stop feeding in cafes; until last year Facebook banned pictures of breastfeeding from its site.

Making breastfeeding more normal in more situations is vital. A nod from a high-profile mum such as the Duchess of Cambridge would be a major fillip. Until then, ditching those hooter hiders would help!

Photo provided by Kate Griffin, a Guildford-based photographer who specialises in creative and contemporary photographs of family life. For more information see www.kategriffinphotography.com or call 07841479035