Breastfeeding mums gather in Doncaster park for Big Latch On

A group of Doncaster mums have met at Sandall Park to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week.
Mums join in global breastfeeding eventMums join in global breastfeeding event
Mums join in global breastfeeding event

Over 70 mums took part in the Doncaster Big Latch On event, which was organised by local online parenting community Doncaster Mumbler and Baby Dinosaurs, and supported by the Public Health Team at Doncaster Council, the Family Hubs, breastfeeding champions and the Health Visiting team from Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust.

The event took place beside a countdown so that mums could feed their babies at 10.30am and link with other mums worldwide feeding their little ones at the same time as part of a Global Big Latch On. There was also baby yoga and baby massage tester sessions together with activities in the Family Hub tent and bouncy castles.

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Breastfeeding has long been known to have a number of benefits for both mum and baby: including protecting children from a range of illnesses – including infection, diabetes, asthma, heart disease and obesity – protecting mothers from breast and ovarian cancers and heart disease, and supporting the mother-baby relationship and the mental health of both baby and mother.

The benefits of breastfeeding are recognised worldwide and research published in 2016 found that increasing breastfeeding rates around the world to near universal levels could prevent 823,000 annual deaths in children younger than five years and 20,000 annual maternal deaths from breast cancer.

Caroline Brooks, owner of Doncaster Mumbler, said: “The event went really well. It’s about working together to make breastfeeding more ‘normal’. This event was about providing support to each other, especially to new mums. We also had a lot of professional experience here too – it was a great way of mums finding out about the help on offer and to get any advice they needed.”

Coun Nigel Ball, Doncaster Council Cabinet Member for Public Health said “Breastfeeding is vitally important and brings benefits to both the mother and their baby, so it’s great to see events like this taking place in Doncaster. It’s also a positive step towards reducing stigma around breastfeeding.”

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Claire Wyatt , RDaSH infant feeding lead health visitor, said: “There are so many benefits to mum and baby when you breastfeed. There are sometimes barriers to breastfeeding and publicly feeding is one of those. This event shows there is support in Doncaster and we want to support as many mums as possible to breastfeed”.

Mums who would like breastfeeding advice have a number of support options in Doncaster: contact a local health visitor on 01302 566776, or visit healthvisitors.rdash.nhs.uk/breastfeeding/ for support and advice.

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