A GROUP of West Cork mothers gathered at Spiller’s Lane in Clonakilty to mark National Breastfeeding Week.
The mothers, who breastfed children ranging in age from four months to four years, included members of the voluntary groups Cuidiú, Friends of Breastfeeding, and La Leche League.
Together, at 11am on Friday October 6th, they fed their babies in a bid to normalise breastfeeding in public, and to spread the word that there is no public place in Ireland where you cannot breastfeed your baby.
Mothers, the organisers pointed out, do not have to ask permission to breastfeed and cannot be asked to move from a public place. However not all women feel comfortable feeding in public.
Some breastfeeding mothers reported that they have been asked to go to the bathroom or elsewhere to breastfeed.
‘Have we forgotten that breastfeeding is the biologically normal way to feed an infant?’ asked Isobel Towse, one of the organisers.
She said being asked to move perpetuates the shaming and judgement experienced by many women who want to breastfeed.
‘There is no limit to how many years a mother should breastfeed for, as the benefits to mum and baby continue with each day, month, and year that she breastfeeds,’ she added.
Both the HSE and the World Health Organisation recommend breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of life, and continuing to breastfeed alongside complementary foods until the child reaches age two or more.
Ireland, according to Isobel Towse, has shockingly low breastfeeding rates.
In 2018, Unicef conducted an international comparison of the number of babies who were ever breastfed and found that Ireland ranked the lowest of 121 countries at just 55%.
The rates are increasing each year but Isobel said there is still a long way to go in changing the culture and attitudes towards breastfeeding, and the level of support available to those who want to breastfeed.
