Women in the Highlands must be given more support to breast feed their babies, councillors agreed yesterday.
Employing extra advisors and making Highland Council buildings “breast feeding friendly” were suggested as ways of improving rates in the Highlands.
Recent statistics showed that just 28.9% of newborns were exclusively breast fed at 6-8 weeks. This is below the Scottish target of 34.8%.
Several members gave passionate and often personal testimonials about breast feeding.
Councillor Margaret Paterson said she breast fed her nine children and was assisting other mothers in the maternity ward after she gave birth to the ninth.
She said: “It is the natural way and it the natural thing to do for the good of the health of the child and the mother. But if a mum takes the decision not to do it, it doesn’t make them a bad mum.
Councillor Carolyn Wilson said that when she had her daughter she was the only mother of a ward of 18 to try breast feeding.
She said that she had helped countless women to start breast feeding and now her daughter was also a supporter.
There was also praise for NHS Highland’s only infant feeding adviser Karen Mackay.
Mrs Wilson said that Ms Mackay had a “wonderful commitment” to promotion of breast feeding and could achieve more with extra staff.
Council leader Drew Hendry said that breast feeding in public should be the norm and called for more facilities to be provide.
He said: “We must make this something which is seen to be the norm. Those people complaining should be the ones who feel they are going against the norm, not those breast feeding in public.”
Councillor Gail Ross said: “We need an attitude change in society. We need breast feeding to be normalised because it is normal.”
She added that some women felt they had to hide away in toilets to feed their child.
Councillors agreed to look at giving funding towards employing three extra infant feeding supporters to work with Ms Mackay, as well as expanding a schools programme to educate youngsters about breast feeding.