Somerset County Council's Public Health Team are encouraging people to nominate public places that are 'positive about breastfeeding.'

As part of World Breastfeeding Awareness Week this week (August 1-7), the Council is promoting its 'Positive About Breastfeeding' scheme. The scheme aims to strengthen the support for breastfeeding in commercial, health and community settings, creating more positive environments for breastfeeding in Somerset.

Many shops, cafés, community spaces and other public places have already signed up to the 'Positive About Breastfeeding' scheme to demonstrate that they are a safe supportive environment for breastfeeding mothers.

World Breastfeeding Week seeks to inform, educate and empower workplaces and communities to strengthen their capacity to provide and sustain breast-feeding friendly environments for families.

Breastmilk contains all the nutrients an infant needs, which is why is it important to breastfeed. Providing babies with the ideal nutrition helps to support growth and strengthen their immune systems, helping to protecting against viruses and infections.

Additionally, breastfeeding offers multiple benefits to mothers too, lowering their risk of breast and ovarian cancer and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, to name but a few. There are also positive effects gained through closeness, such as skin to skin contact to build a loving relationship.

Most mums start breastfeeding but many report stopping before they feel ready. Having more breastfeeding friendly places gives mothers a better chance of being able to carry on breastfeeding until they feel the time is right for both them and their baby to stop.

Adam Dance, Lead Member for Public Health, Equalities and Diversity at Somerset County Council, said: "Mums need a safe, supportive environment to breastfeed. We want to showcase organisations that empower mums in a positive way, to breastfeed in public.

"Embarrassment and the stigma surrounding breastfeeding in public can lead some mums to stop breastfeeding before they are ready. I would like to encourage mums to seek out places that display the 'Positive About Breastfeeding' sticker - where they can be assured that they will be supported and made to feel comfortable when breastfeeding their child."

For more details go to: https://bit.ly/PAbreastfeeding

For help and support breastfeeding go to: https://bit.ly/Som-breastfeeding-support

Get in touch with health visiting infant feeding support, for email addresses please click here.

 The Association of Breastfeeding Mothers has put together a resource pack for new and expectant mothers which you can download here.