'Today will hopefully help to wipe away any fears of any mum who wants to feed her baby wherever she wants, without judgement'

The event, which was organised by North West Breastfeeding and Perinatal Support, was hosted by the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Patricia Logue.

La Leche League Breastfeeding Counsellor and poet at The Breast of Rhymes, Gráinne Evans, also made a special guest at the event.

The well-attended event is said to have been the only event celebrating Breastfeeding in Public Day in Northern Ireland.

North West BAPS are a parent-led group who have been calling for more awareness, visibility and support for breastfeeding in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area – which has amongst the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world.

Dr. Noella Gormley from North West BAPS who organised the event, explains: “It was great to see mums and babies from across the Derry City and Strabane District Council area coming together with staff from some of the local breastfeeding and perinatal support services including the Western Health and Social Care Trust, Surestart Shantallow, Strabane Sure Start; Family Centre, SureStart Edenballymore, Action for Children Waterside Surestart and Parentline NI, to celebrate this special day and to help raise awareness about breastfeeding in our council area.”

Derry City and Strabane District Council and the Mayor Cllr Patricia Logue who hosted the special occasion in the Guildhall, pledged support for the North West BAPS, adding: “I want to commend the work being done by the group and parents across our council area to promote breastfeeding and campaign for the mechanisms and supports needed to make it accessible and convenient for mothers and their babies.

"It is something that as a society we should be more accepting and supportive of and do everything we can to educate and promote breastfeeding to improve facilities and change perceptions.”

Families and supporters gathered in the Guildhall to hear special guest Gráinne Evans, poet at The Best of Rhymes read her poem entitled ‘Nursing in Public’.

Asked about her visit to the Guildhall to support ‘Breastfeeding in Public Day’, Gráinne said: “I’m really delighted to be included in the celebrations this year for World Breastfeeding in Public Day.

"Events like this are hugely important in helping to break down the barriers mums can face when breastfeeding.

"Celebrating and normalising breastfeeding when out and about as part of normal daily life is something we as a society should definitely be encouraging.

"Knowing that there is this kind of support out there is wonderful for new mums.”

Among those in attendance at the Guildhall was Michelle McBrearty from Sure Start Shantallow, who also enthused about the local support available, explaining: “I am delighted to support the Breastfeeding in Public event and am privileged to be part of many families’ breastfeeding journeys.

"Sure Start Shantallow provides valuable support via home visiting, telephone and one to one support, and we also have a weekly breastfeeding support group which takes place every Tuesday morning – new parents are always welcome”.

Several representatives from the Western Health and Social Care Trust attended the event in the Guildhall including midwife Pauline Gallanagh, who praised the local mothers who has turned out in support of breastfeeding. “It is great to see so many mums supporting the event, and supporting breastfeeding,” she said.

Ashley Ferguson, from the Trust agreed, adding: “It’s good to see so many people supporting breastfeeding, and helping to normalise it in the community.”

The event in the Guildhall was also attended by Sharon Callaghan, Manager of Strabane Sure Start who said “Strabane Sure Start is delighted to support Breastfeeding in Public Day 2024. We need to promote the benefits of breastfeeding to both women and infants and challenge and change perceptions and beliefs that have negative connotations towards breastfeeding in public.”

A number of mums and babies travelled from Strabane with Sharon Callaghan to attend the event including mum Nadine Doherty who was there with her 6-month-old daughter. Nadine said: “I am one of the mums from the Strabane Breastfeeding Group who meet every Wednesday morning in The Palour at St. Pat’s Hall. I love breastfeeding because it is so easy. I also breastfed my older child until he was 9 months old when I lived in London. It was very normalised over there, it is not as normalised here, so I am glad we have events like this to meet up and help make it a wee bit more normal.”

Another Strabane mum Nicole who was at the event with her 8-month-old daughter, appreciated and advocated being part of a Breastfeeding Group: “I find the best part is meeting other mums, and getting advice from them – I find that really beneficial in my journey as a breastfeeding mum.”

Derry mum of 3, Sinead O’Kane who is also a core member of the North West BAPS team put together a special reel of pictures of local mums breastfeeding their children while out and about, as part of the North West BAPS celebration of Breastfeeding in Public Day.

Sinead said “I loved putting this reel together of all our beautiful mamas feeding in public. Today is not a day to make others or mothers feel uncomfortable - it’s actually the opposite, it will hopefully help to wipe away any fears of any mum who wants to feed her baby wherever she wants, without judgement.”

North West BAPS are keen to let families know about the wide range of help that is available for breastfeeding and any other issues that new parents might struggle with.

Help and Support is Available

New parents with any infant feeding queries can access the labour ward anytime for up to 28 days after they have given birth, and they can also contact their midwife or health visitor anytime during working hours.

Follow North West BAPS on Facebook and Instagram for the latest on local breastfeeding and perinatal support.