It’s been noted that Cllr Luisa Hillard has pioneered breast-feeding her son in the council chamber and looks like the council are doing lots to support breastfeeding mothers. This in from the council, in their own words. Ed
Breastfeeding mothers have the right to breastfeed anywhere. Part of the council’s work seeks to break down any perceived stigma that surrounds breastfeeding and encourage mothers to make this choice, if it is right for them and their baby.
Last week, new mum Councillor Luisa Hillard did just that, when she chose to breastfeed her new son, ‘Teddy’ [Edward] at work.
Councillor Hillard, said:
“I believe that I am the first Isle of Wight Councillor to have a baby whilst in office and chose to return to work when my baby was just eleven days old. Despite Teddy being my third baby breastfeeding has not been as easy as I expected and so I appreciate the support of my colleagues to be able to continue my councillor duties alongside my role as mum to a new baby.”
Councillor Phil Jordan, Executive Member for Public Health, said:
“I’d firstly like to congratulate Councillor Hillard and her family on the birth of their new son, and would like to thank her for her dedication to her role and continuing to attend meetings so soon after the birth of her baby.”
A mother’s right to choose
The council supports a mother’s right to choose to breastfeed anywhere within council premises; wherever she feels comfortable to do so. Private rooms are offered to mother’s upon their request if they prefer to feed their babies in a quieter and more comfortable location. Provision is also made in council policy to support mothers, when returning to work, to be offered facilities to either breastfeed or express milk.
In 2014/15, 71 per cent of Island women initiated breastfeeding and 45 per cent were still breastfeeding at 6/8 weeks. We also know that most women who stop feeding in the first few weeks would have liked to have kept going and wanted more support to do so, and so that is what services are focusing on doing.
New breastfeeding groups
In recent months breastfeeding groups have been established across the Island every weekday, via Children’s Centres, so that there is always support and guidance available for mothers who require additional help to breastfeed, or who want to meet with other likeminded mums locally.
The council has also trained a team of peer supporters (usually other mums who have or do breastfeed) to work in children centres and also the hospital, to support new mums’ confidence and provide guidance as required.
Local Breastfeeding peer supporter, Emma Porter, 33, a mother of two breastfed boys, from Ryde, said:
“The Isle of Wight is lucky that throughout various different face-to-face and online groups there is empathy and support for breastfeeding mums facing challenges. I’ve noticed that recent improvements in changes to the delivery of breastfeeding services on the Island have led more mums to attend the groups on offer. I faced some tough breastfeeding challenges with my first baby and I received some excellent help from local groups and health professionals. I feel rewarded that I can help mums who want to breastfeed, to continue; becoming a peer supporter has also helped me on my breastfeeding journey with my second baby!”
The Island is seeing some very positive results and receiving a lot of positive feedback through local initiatives, as the council seeks to achieve the UNICEF Baby Friendly status as with our partner organisations; Barnardos and the NHS Trust.
