One fifth of breastfeeding mums have been harassed while feeding their children in public

This National Breastfeeding Week, Kate Ng takes a closer look at new data which shows the extent of harassment breastfeeding mothers are being exposed to

Breastfeeding mothers report increase in harassment when they feed their children in public, according to research by Elvie (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Women who breastfeed have reported a drastic increase in harassment when they breastfeed in public in the past month, a survey has found.

Research by women’s health brand Elvie found that more than half (52 per cent) of women reported strangers staring at them while they breastfed, a 30 per cent increase compared with women who previously breastfed but stopped before July 2021.

A quarter of the women surveyed (24 per cent) said they were told by strangers to cover up, while a fifth (22 per cent) have had photos taken of them and received negative remarks.

The findings come after Labour MP Stella Creasy launched her “Stop The Breast Pests” campaign, calling on the government to make it illegal to photograph or film someone breastfeeding without their consent.

Creasy, who launched the campaign in May, said: “Right now there are people who think it’s ok to photograph someone breastfeeding without their consent.

“Help me and [Labour MP] Jeff Smith change the law to stop the breast pests by asking your MP to join us tabling New Clause 27 to the policing bill.”

The research also follows reports earlier this month that an Australian woman was “berated” by security guards at Disneyland Paris for breastfeeding her daughter on a bench. In the UK, a woman wrote to the Guardian complaining that she was fined £60 for “spending more than 15 minutes in a petrol station while breastfeeding” her baby.

A man said to me, ‘You should be covered up, people are eating here, that’s disgusting’

Of the 1,011 mothers who participated in the survey, 36 per cent said they were more anxious about breastfeeding in public due to the pandemic. More than a third (37 per cent) admitted to staying home to breastfeed and half (53 per cent) said they hid in their cars to breastfeed in peace.

The most daunting places to breastfeed, according to the mothers, were public transport (43 per cent), in-person meetings (43 per cent) and the gym (40 per cent).

Aoife Ni Chionaoith, 30, spoke about her experience of being told to cover up while she was breastfeeding her son in a Costa cafe.

She told The Independent: “I never covered up because it’s just too awkward, I’ve tried but never worked it out. Then a man said to me, ‘You should be covered up, people are eating here, that’s disgusting’.

“It caught me off-guard and I had nothing to come back with. I’d never had anyone complain before, you get the odd look sometimes with people staring… I’ve never eaten my lunch so fast, I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

“But equally, I was feeding my baby [at the same time], so I couldn’t get up and leave immediately, or stop [breastfeeding] or it would have ended it an upset baby.”

She said the next time she tried to breastfeed in public, with her second baby, she got a cover, which she said made it “very hard”.

“You can’t fully feel if they’re latched on, and he had a bad latch, so it made it quite difficult to breastfeed him. I would avoid going out just in case anyone said anything to me again,” said Aoife.

After lockdown, when her second baby was nine months old and was a “big child”, she said she received “dirty looks” because it looked as though she was breastfeeding a toddler.

As businesses reopen, we need to see them creating breastfeeding-safe spaces so mums feel comfortable about breastfeeding and pumping in public

Tania Boler, founder and CEO of Elvie, said: “In a world where breastfeeding mums feel the need to cover up, and strangers feel it’s ok to comment and take pictures of mums breastfeeding, it’s sadly necessary to signpost where breastfeeding is welcome.

“As businesses reopen, we need to see them creating breastfeeding-safe spaces so mums feel comfortable about breastfeeding and pumping in public.”

Despite the increase in harassment, two-thirds (67 per cent) of women who currently breastfeed said they feel comfortable doing so in public, compared with just 42 per cent of women who have stopped breastfeeding.

Around a third of the mothers who currently breastfeed also said they received non-verbal reassurance, such as smiles or thumbs up, from passers-by. A similar number of mothers also said they received reassurance from staff in a shop, restaurant or cafe.