Breastfeeding is natural – so why should it still be an issue?

I’LL jump at any opportunity to explore new bits of my hometown, and armed with a hungry baby my better ’alf Helena and I are discovering Cardiff nooks and crannies where we can change and she can feed a miniature human.

Seeing as Cymru Breastfeeding Awareness Week starts today and since my wife Helena is currently breastfeeding our four-month-old baby, Ella, it seemed like a good idea to write about a topic I suddenly know a bit more about (even if I run the risk of being accused of “mansplaining”!).

Cardiff has extremely low rates of breastfeeding, and so I reckon there’s nothing wrong with (even men) chatting about the issue to try to ensure more new Cardiffians are given their best possible start in life.

I know what you’re thinking: “You’ve changed.” Time was I’d be extolling the virtues of the local craft beer scene.

(Actually, while I think of it, there are new microbreweries popping up in Splott and Fairwater in the form of Splott Brewery and the Arcadian Brewing Co. respectively.)

Yet month after month, this column covers all things Cardiff and issues that I feel strongly about, and today’s no different. Breastfeeding is an issue that for many years I’ve felt pretty strongly about, mainly a woman’s right to breastfeed in public.

Breast is best

For those of you out of the loop, the official line from the World Health Organisation on breastfeeding is that babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months.

To quote the NHS’ Every Child Wales website (everychildwales.co. uk), “Babies who are breastfed are more likely to be a healthy weight by the time they start school. They are less likely to have high blood pressure and heart disease when they grow up.”

It’s also good for mums – a breastfeeding woman uses up to 500 calories a day and will be less at risk from depression and certain cancers among other benefits.

And on a practical level, it’s free, you can’t run out (demand creates supply), and it’s great not having to sterilise bottles.

So, hooray for the boob. Yet in the UK, fewer than 40% of babies are breastfed to six months, and fewer than 1% of mums breastfeed exclusively at this time.

Dr Kate Boyer, a senior lecturer in human geography at Cardiff University, has studied the subject and sees great disparity across the city.

In Cardiff South, the rate of mums still giving breast milk 10 days post birth is 75%, while in Cardiff East it’s just 38%.

She sees this as “a social equality issue”, with lower income areas where there are younger mums seeing breastfeeding rates drop off much more sharply.

Reduce the pressure

At the end of the day, a healthy, happy baby and mum is the aim. The last thing I’d want to do by writing this is to apply more pressure to new mums.

Just a few days ago new advice from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) stated that new mothers should be given appropriate support if they make an informed decision to bottle-feed instead.

I reckon this new advice to midwives that a mother’s choice “must be respected” is very welcome and will hopefully make the more “hard line” midwives dial back their fervour a bit.

Gopher it

So where do men fit into this? Um. Well, I’ll be the first to admit that we’re largely unimportant – and it’s this exclusion that may make some blokes feel a little left out.

I didn’t feel this way but perhaps it’s because early on I got to feed Ella with a bottle of expressed milk – a beautiful, messy experience.

A couple of days ago on social media a woman said friends of hers had felt that they had not had the necessary support from their male partners when they were struggling with breastfeeding.

“Isn’t it kinda hard to support? I mean you don’t have a clue, do you?” said my (blunt) friend Karen, mum to Eva and toddler Delyth, when I relayed this to her. And she’s right.

Yet support doesn’t have to be in the form of expert advice. I’m thinking basics here: encouragement, empathising, providing sustenance and fetching things like the remote control or phone during feeding.

“Thinking about it, I always thought the best support was making sure I was fed and watered whilst under attack from the little cutie,” agrees Karen.

Going public

By law businesses must not treat a breastfeeding customer unfairly, or let other customers do so.

Personally I have no idea why people would have an issue with what is surely one of the most natural of practices.

“Don’t be afraid to breastfeed in public,” says Karen. “If someone has an issue, it’s their problem not yours.” Quite. But not everyone is so bullish. “It can be very daunting,” says Helena. “I always have to assess the room before I attempt to do it. Initially I was very apprehensive and felt I might be asked to leave a place or receive disapproving stares.

“I’m not sure where I conjured up these ideas as I’m entering my fourth month of breastfeeding and I’ve experienced no negativity whatsoever.”

In her 2016 paper on breastfeeding in public, Dr Boyer states: “There is clearly a long way to go before breastfeeding in public is unremarkable in the UK.”

She recommends a shift in public opinion is needed, and suggests perhaps embedding it in popular TV shows, and talks at schools would be a way to change people’s perceptions.

Cardiff has many businesses that actively support mums wishing to exercise their rights.

(A shout-out here to the super childfriendly Milk & Sugar in the Old Library – if you’ve not tried it purely as an escape from the madding Saturday crowd, with or without a child, you’re missing out.)

Some larger places even have designated feeding areas that allow for privacy.

“It’s important to get out and meet friends,” says Helena. “Breastfeeding should not be a barrier to this in the early days. Knowing where these private rooms are gave me the confidence to pop into town for a few hours.”

Of these “we” like the feeding rooms in Ikea and Mothercare (Newport Road branch – “great support pillow”).

In town, there are top notch, top floor facilities in John Lewis and also on the ground floor in St David’s shopping centre.

“JL has booths with dividers so you get the privacy you need. It’s an excellent feeding area and very convenient, as are those in St David’s where there are family loos, and there’s even a lockable room containing changing area, sink and a sofa. With these nearby, you should consider giving Debenhams’ rather rundown offering a miss.”

This column’s not about to become the Cardiff version of Mumsnet, honest, but hopefully someone will find some of this information useful. Till next time...