Limerick Council backed ‘Breastfeeding Friendly’ campaign goes national

THE SECRETS of a campaign seeking to make Limerick the ‘breastfeeding friendly’ capital of Ireland are to be shared across the country. 

A toolkit for We’re Breastfeeding Friendly, a campaign by Limerick City and County Council supported by Healthy Ireland, has been presented to Healthy Ireland for other cities to use. 

The campaign aims to improve the health and wellbeing of breastfeeding mothers and babies by encouraging businesses and communities to become breastfeeding friendly. 

“The level and depth of collaboration between the business, community and public sectors in Limerick is clear in We're Breastfeeding Friendly,” Healthy Limerick co-ordinator Mo Foley Walsh said. 

“Eleven organisations or networks have worked together to make it happen, over 100 premises across the city and county are participating and countless breastfeeding mothers and their children can benefit.” 

 The We’re Breastfeeding Friendly initiative is simple and cost-free for businesses, groups or organisations to sign up to. 

In order to join, participants must fulfil certain criteria; breastfeeding must be acceptable in all areas of the premises open to the public, all staff members and volunteers are supportive of the campaign and mothers in the premises must never be moved or asked to stop breastfeeding. 

The premises must also display a We’re Breastfeeding Friendly window sticker or poster. 

Since the campaign was launched in September 2018, more than 100 premises including, churches, local authority and healthcare buildings, restaurants and tourist attractions such as King John’s Castle have signed up to the campaign.

 Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr James Collins said: “Such a simple but important campaign has become such a huge success and it has risen awareness of the need to make breastfeeding mothers welcome and at ease.”

“The campaign is hugely successful in Limerick and I wish it the very best as we handover our learning about the campaign to others across the country,” he added.