embracethebreast

Campaign launched to fight the stigma surrounding public breastfeeding

  • The Northern Quota aims to tackle the stigma surrounding breastfeeding in public with the campaign, #EmbracetheBreast.
  • Student journalist at MMU, Sophie Woods, is at the head of the new campaign that wants to encourage everyone to accept breastfeeding as a social norm.

Would you eat your lunch in a public toilet cubicle? If the answer is no, then consider why so many women are made to feel like this is where they should feed their babies.

Almost daily, stories emerge where mothers have been told to cover themselves up, stop feeding their child in certain settings or have simply been a recipient of hate.

Many members of the public continue to struggle to accept breastfeeding, to get beyond the sexualisation of breasts, and see that this way of feeding a child is the most natural thing in the world.

The Embrace the Breast campaign aims to abolish this stigma on public breastfeeding, whether it be in the supermarket, on the train, in cafes, on the streets… It is ok, and it is necessary.

Many mothers feel a certain pressure to hide away in fear that feeding their baby may subject them to abuse and embarrassment when in public spaces. Embrace the Breast will raise awareness and encourage us all to put an end to this unacceptable anxiety.

The campaign will seek out and document those affected by hatred, but who bounced back from this; transforming their experiences into something that stands up for mothers everywhere.

It will look into the general benefits of breastfeeding to stress the importance of feeling comfortable with feeding your child – wherever you are – in this way. To educate, inspire and empower.

It will dig deeper into the stigma, to discover societies boundaries. Where do we see breastfeeding as inappropriate, and where is it considered wholly acceptable?

Ultimately, it will encourage mothers – the new and the already thriving – see that the only thing that matters is them feeding their children.

It’s time to #EmbraceTheBreast, for our mamas everywhere.

Official site: https://embracethebreast.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ETBcampaign

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Embrace-the-Breast-392070081212214/