Following on from a celebration event at Norton Priory last week, a new campaign developed by Halton Family Hubs launched this week, with the aim of increasing breastfeeding rates in Halton.
In-depth research with local parents found that most parents make their decision to breastfeed or not before their baby is born – often even before conception. The campaign is therefore focused on parents to be and how breaking down the breastfeeding journey into key stages can deliver huge benefits.
These ‘baby steps’– the first few days, up to 6 weeks, up to 3 months, up to 6 months and 6 months and beyond – each deliver huge benefits for both mum and baby.
“Breastfeeding isn’t always easy and every mum has a different experience. We hope that by breaking the journey down into these ‘baby steps’ anyone who is unsure about breastfeeding will be encouraged to start and progress to each stage, step by step.”
Julia Rosser, Public Health Consultant at Halton Borough Council.
The campaign will also feature local mums like Steph whose own breastfeeding journey wasn’t without it’s challenges but by 9 months, with support from professionals including the Halton Infant Feeding Team and the Infant Feeding Specialist Lead, little Emilia was exclusively breastfed.
Steph says: “Thanks to all your support, finally, at 9 months old, all top ups are gone, and she is officially exclusively breast fed! It’s been a hard slog, but I absolutely couldn’t have done it without all your help.”
Visit www.breastfeedingbenefits.co.uk for more information.
Support from the Infant Feeding Team is available by calling 0300 029 0029 and there is more information about breastfeeding and support available on the Halton Family Hubs app: Halton Family Hubs
Norton Priory hosts breastfeeding celebration event
Visual artist Lisa Creagh and Halton Family Hubs have come together to create an exhibition of breastfeeding portraits across Halton Family Hubs and an outdoor Audio Tour of breastfeeding stories at Norton Priory’s walled garden.
The exhibition was launched at a celebration event on 23 July at Norton Priory, welcoming over 300 people for a day of activities, music and singing, story time and baby sensory as well as free access to Norton Priory and its grounds.
The exhibition and audio tour follow free writing workshops that took place at Halton Lea Library with local mothers from the Family Hubs network area. These writing workshops were delivered by Rachel New, a writer and experienced Creative Lives producer who is delivering workshops as part of The Holding Time Project, a photography exhibition of breastfeeding portraits.
Portraits of local mothers will be on display at the Family Hub venues across Runcorn and Widnes and within the Walled Garden at Norton Priory, where the audio tour will also be available throughout the summer.
Some of the local women who have participated in the Holding Time workshops read their poetry at the event, to celebrate the very real and unique experiences of breastfeeding from local mothers.
The personal stories of these women’s breastfeeding journeys were especially popular with visitors to the event:
“Amazing and powerful poems by our courageous mums!”
“The audio trail was brilliant, a lovely way to hear the women’s’ stories”
“The women’s’ experiences reflect the reality of breastfeeding for many people. It was lovely to hear their stories in such a creative way. Very emotional but empowering!”
About the Holding Time Project
The Holding Time project has been created with mothers from across the UK in Brighton, Coventry and Liverpool and aims to address and overturn breastfeeding preconceptions and myths, challenge stereotypes, and – above all else – improve breastfeeding rates by harnessing women’s knowledge and wisdom.
You can watch videos of our local mums’ poetry here: https://youtu.be/rl5Cmw4De4w
Stacey Cameron, Specialist Infant Feeding Lead, Bridgewater NHS:
“We were delighted to have hosted the exhibitions and storytelling workshops in partnership with The Holding Time project at Halton Family Hubs. We understand that not all breastfeeding journeys are the same, and this project empowered women to share their experiences with each other and the wider community. This initiative will help to normalise not only breastfeeding but also other challenges women face, enabling them to speak openly about topics that they might otherwise avoid due to social stigma.
“I was deeply moved by the bravery and inspiration of the women in the group. One mum who participated in the workshop shared that she found the process healing, while another loved the sense of community it fostered, being with other mums going through similar experiences. We now realise the profound impact of using the arts for therapeutic healing and creating positive change within our community and we have plans to host future storytelling workshops.’’