Breastfeeding out and about

By Cordelia Uys, NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor

February 2022

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 protects women’s right to breastfeed, whatever the age of their child, in all public places from parks and leisure facilities, to public transport, shops, restaurants, hotels and cinemas. There is no obligation for a mother to cover herself. ⁣

Unfortunately this isn’t widely known, and surveys have shown that many new mothers are anxious about breastfeeding when out and about because they’re worried about negative comments or worse. In fact, some women choose not to breastfeed, or introduce bottles earlier than they might have wanted to, because of these concerns. ⁣

Undoubtedly, some people do make unkind, insensitive or aggressive comments, although I suspect not nearly as often as many believe. ⁣

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The perception that negative reactions are common is probably driven by the fact that they often receive publicity in the press and on social media. One example lots of people still remember happened in 2014, when Lou Burns, a 35 year-old mother who was breastfeeding her baby at Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair, was ordered by staff to cover herself with a large napkin to avoid 'causing offence' to other guests. Not surprisingly Lou was very embarrassed and burst into tears. ⁣

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To counterbalance negative stories such as the one above, Lauren Johnson Reynolds @londonwellnesscoach has kindly given me permission to share her recent experience at Marks & Spencers in Colney Fields:⁣

‘I’m a new mum so breastfeeding outside is still challenging at times, but my 6 week old was getting quite upset, so I perched on the base of a mannequin to feed her with my pregnant sister sat next to me. We were approached by an employee who kindly offered to take us over to the changing rooms so I could feed comfortably (with a comfy seat for my sister) and even pushed the buggy so I could continue feeding my daughter on the way. I could’ve cried! In that moment she seemed like an angel and has really boosted my confidence in feeding my daughter when out and about! I just wanted to share for any other new mums nervous about feeding in shops etc...’

Handy tip for breastfeeding out and about: the ‘one up, one down’ method

This involves wearing a long, stretchy vest under a looser outer top. The floatier and looser the outer top, the better. You get your baby in position, unclip your bra, pull down the part of the vest covering your breast, lift the outer top and quickly latch your baby. This means all the fiddly unclipping of your bra and manoeuvring of your baby is done under the outer top, and minimal time is spent with your breast on display. The stretchy vest covers not only the breast you’re not feeding from, but also your stomach, which is a part of our body most of us would rather not have exposed.

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