Lilly Evans is a lecturer in Midwifery and Reproductive Health at the University’s College of Human and Health Sciences.  She said: “With this campaign, we wanted to inspire our midwifery students to consider how they can help create a more positive culture towards breastfeeding.  We will be involving local organisations such as coffee shops and restaurants who want to give their support for breastfeeding and to show that they welcome mothers to breastfeed there, by displaying the poster our students have designed and using our hashtag: #SwanseaSupportsBreastfeeding on social media to demonstrate that they support the campaign.  Outlets that support the campaign will be named as breastfeeding-friendly places to go on our website.

The campaign will be launched in the University’s Health and Wellbeing Academy on 1 August to coincide with the start of World Breastfeeding Week.

Lilly said: “We passionately believe that women should have the information they need to make an informed choice, but it cannot stop there. We need to provide better support to mothers and changing attitudes towards breastfeeding is a good place to start, World Breastfeeding Week is a global campaign and we want to demonstrate what we as a University are doing to support this.”

Swansea University’s Professor Amy Brown is author of Breastfeeding Uncovered.  She said:

“Increasing breastfeeding rates should not be about targeting individual mothers and telling them to breastfeed. That's not helpful and doesn't work.

What women need is a positive, supportive environment in which to breastfeed their babies in. It's up to us a society - organisations, businesses, the public to do what we can to protect and promote breastfeeding. This is why campaigns like this are so timely and I hope many people get on board.’”

Swansea University Health and Wellbeing Academy

Study midwifery at Swansea University