A campaign strategically locating seven life-sized cardboard standees of women breast feeding babies placed in areas where people will see them has been positively received, says a public health nurse.
Wendy Lahey, a public health nurse with Wellington-Duffering-Guelph Public Health, said the two-week awareness campaign, which was new to the region, ended Monday.
The standees were located in various high-traffic areas across the city, including The Bookshelf, hospital, Community Health Centre and one at the YMCA.
“From what I have heard, the response has been mostly positive. Everyone has been supportive — businesses, the public, hospital staff,” said Lahey.
The standee at the YMCA location spurred a lot of discussion, said Lahey, and at least one person complained about the image of a woman breast feeding in public.
“That’s what we want, people talking about it,” said Lahey.
She said YMCA staff listened to the man’s concerns and then informed him of a woman’s right to breast feed a baby in public.
Lahey said women are legally protected against discrimination or harassment under the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which also includes their right to breast feed a baby in public without being asked to cover up or move to a location that is ‘more discreet’.
The campaign, launched by the Breastfeeding Collaborative of Dufferin and East Wellington, seeks to normalize the image of women breast feeding in public, said Lahey.
“We wanted to promote a woman’s right to breast feed. ‘Any time, any where’ is the wording we use,” she said.
Women don’t always know how to breast feed because the practice is not prevalent in Canada as it is in other parts of the world, said Lahey, and often they need time to become comfortable enough to to it in public.
“If it’s your first baby, you have to learn how to breast feed. That is not always easy,” she said.
There are a lot of reasons why a woman may choose to not breast feed a baby in public — or at all, said Lahey.
Health advocates have moved away from ‘breast is best’ messaging for new mothers.
“We absolutely don’t want anyone to feel guilty or bad. We support all moms and we support all methods of infant feeding. If you are going to breast feed or if you have decided to bottle feed formula we will always support you,” she said.
The standees were removed by Lahey Monday and will be displayed over the next few weeks in different parts of the district.
Lahey expects the standees will be shown again in Guelph sometime in November.
