Following a campaign by Renfrewshire North & West MSP, Natalie Don, there has been a large increase in the number of places that have signed up to the Scottish Government’s Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme.
Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland (BFS) is a national scheme which businesses can sign up to for free. Backed by the Scottish Government and run by local health boards, the scheme aims to help businesses and people who breastfeed know their rights and responsibilities. Essentially, if an establishment is signed up to the scheme, mums can be sure that the place they are entering will be welcoming and supportive of her feeding choice.
Natalie Don MSP’s office signed up to the scheme back in August and at the time, Natalie was disheartened to find her office was only the second in Renfrewshire to have signed up. Following this, Natalie contacted Renfrewshire Council, OneRen, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (RHSCP) and is still in the process of writing to businesses across her constituency.
Natalie has stated that she is “overwhelmed” with the progress on this to date with the latest figures showing that there are now over 50 different locations signed up to the scheme across Renfrewshire.
Natalie stated,
“This is a really positive scheme from the Scottish Government and I am actually a little bit overwhelmed by how supportive businesses and organisations have been with this. When I first brought this to the forefront, I was, naturally, a little disappointed by the uptake locally, however simply starting the conversation and putting this on the agenda has went a long way and now, just a couple of months later, we have over 50 places signed up across the whole of Renfrewshire with more in the process of signing up.
“I am extremely thankful to Renfrewshire Council, OneRen and RHSCP who have been dedicated in getting their own venues signed up to the scheme and are continuing the roll-out of the scheme within their buildings and venues across Renfrewshire, including a programme of training to ensure all appropriate staff are well-trained to support parents to breast-feed.
“While this can certainly be seen as a success, we still have a way to go and there are still many more venues who could sign up so I will continue to encourage take up of the scheme and other ways to support mothers and families locally. I have now met with both infant feeding teams in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, most recently, Inverclyde, who have done some amazing work to help increase awareness, encourage and support families in their parenting journeys. It was really great to chat about the ways they are supporting breastfeeding mothers, as well as the absolutely beautiful mural they have in Greenock which aims to raise awareness. I am still exploring how we could see something like this in Renfrewshire but for now, I am happy that the visibility of support for breastfeeding continues to rise.”
Cllr Lisa Marie Hughes, Chair of OneRen stated;
'When Natalie got in touch to highlight the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme, One Ren and Renfrewshire Council were keen to have our spaces registered. Families have so many of their firsts with us, from registering births to first swims and library visits. We hope breastfeeding mothers feel confident in our spaces and that this helps make their time with us a relaxed and positive experience.'