Ooops, asked for that post ot be deleted as it has my phone number on so here it is again, with no number..Doh!
I've sent this edited version of UD's press release to local papers and radio stations.
Anything else anyone can think of?
RE: Breastfeeding picnic, University Parks, keble road entrance, Oxford, 1pm-3pm, 21/07/2008
Photo and interview opportunity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Yummy Mummies say 'Protect My Baby, Protect Me.?
A group of mums have got together to arrange a picnic for their babies in Parliament Square to raise awareness of the new breastfeeding legislation in the Single Equalities Bill. There will also be many other events around the country including one we are holding in University Parks, Oxford. They're also encouraging other mothers to come along to join in and breastfeed, so that the very best source of natural nourishment for babies is being placed firmly on the menu.
The event, dubbed ?Protect My Baby, Protect Me?, which is to be held at University Parks, Oxford, on the 21st July 2008, from midday onwards, hopes to raise awareness of breastfeeding issues and also be a show of solidarity for mums who want to breastfeed wherever their baby needs it without being made to feel ashamed or embarrassed.
Parliament Square Event organiser, Emily Pulling says, "This picnic is intended to be a gentle way to show support to anyone who breastfeeds and to make the Government aware that we are not happy about the 6 months? age limit being talked about in the Single Equalities Bill.
?At the moment, it is legal to breastfeed in public. Unfortunately, it is also legal for anybody to ask a nursing mother to move on (if they refuse, the police can be called), and red-faced and embarrassed mothers being thrown out of shops and cafes is something which has happened time and again.
?The UK Government, instead of giving us a law like Scotland?s, has given us nothing but chaos and farce, because although there was, apparently, a media briefing at Downing Street stating that the Bill would cover to protect breastfeeding mothers as long as their babies were six months old and under, there still is nothing in writing in the published versions of the proposed Bill.
?The exact wording of the Bill is not known, as there is still nothing in writing, but there is a reply to a question raised on the Downing Street petition site, that illuminates the thinking that clearly underpins the role of the Bill, and the intent on breastfeeding:
?For example, if a mother who was breastfeeding her baby in a cafe was asked to leave, she could bring a claim of direct sex discrimination against the proprietor, providing her baby is not older than 6 months."
?This is clearly a cack-handed attempt to shoehorn breastfeeding protection in under amendments to maternity rights in the Sex Discrimination Act via the Equalities Bill, and seems to be saying that a baby is protected and can legally nurse in public without fear of discrimination so long as the mother is protected under maternity rights.
?But if we just think about the logistics of it for a moment: A breastfeeding baby, out and about with Mum, gets hungry. Mum is having lunch at the local cafe. She starts to feed baby, and the owner demands she leave. What does she do? Well, she has no option but to leave, for there is nothing here to protect her right to stay and finish the feed. She can't phone the police for help, and explain she is being harassed and prevented from feeding her hungry baby. So she has to leave and go find a lawyer.
.
?She goes off and finds a lawyer and asks them to sue the cafe owner under the Sex Discrimination Act. And her proof is? And how long will that take? And can she hack the stress and the costs?
?We need proper protection for mothers and babies, like the law they have in Scotland which is very clear and concise. It gives nursing babies the protection they need without putting an absurd age limit on it.?
ENDS
The press are invited to cover the picnic, which is expected to run
from 1pm to approximately 3pm on the 21st of July. There will be cute babies available for photos and mothers available for interview.
There may also be cake, but you'll have to come along early for that.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please contact Lorayn Brown on 07765
or email [email protected]
Notes to Editors
? This event is being partially organised by MEMBERS OF (NB - Not the owners or admin staff of) www.mumsnet.com, of the Gina Ford
Controversy fame. This is the website where the 'Gina Ford straps
babies to rockets and fires them into Southern Lebanon' quote came from, so journalists can probably expect some interesting opinions!
? It is still legal in this country to make a nursing mother move on
from a public space and force her to feed her child either in the
public toilets, or in a "Mother & Baby room", which usually means,
"Cupboard with a changing mat and a festering bin of nappies. Oh, and a small chair."
? There has been an attempt by MP David Kidney to pass a Private
Member's Bill through Parliament, which was unsuccessful. There have been several calls by MP's to pass the law and make it illegal to
harass or move on a nursing mother, but so far, their calls have been ignored.
? The legislation has been passed in Scotland and a recent survey
carried out by the National Childbirth Trust has found that 79% of
mothers asked would like a similar bill to be passed here in England. The NCT survey also found that out of 1,394 mothers surveyed, over half of them had felt embarrassed when feeding their babies in public. Breastfeeding mothers have been asked to move on from restaurants, cafes, shopping centres and high streets.
? Both the Department of Health and the World Health Organisation
suggest that a baby should receive at least some breast milk until
they are 2 years old. The government has now started to introduce new initiatives, which means that midwives are now discouraged from discussing formula feeding in antenatal classes, and pushing
breastfeeding as the best way to feed a baby. All this would be fine, if there was the postnatal care to support it. The trouble is, in
today's NHS, the overworked and stressed midwives on postnatal wards have no time to help naïve new mothers with learning the skills required for successful breastfeeding. Likewise, health visitors working in the community all too often suggest formula as a quick and easy solution to a mother struggling to breastfeed, rather than help her to nurse her baby effectively.