Mums ‘poster girls’ (From York Press)

Mums ‘poster girls’

11:08am Saturday 6th February 2010 in News By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk

TWO York mothers got a glamorous makeover for a poster campaign to persuade mums-to-be that breastfeeding is the best option for their babies and themselves.

York has the lowest rate of breastfeeding in North Yorkshire, so the NHS drafted in Rachel Lawson and Katherine Barber to “demonstrate the beauty of breastfeeding”.

The pair will now feature in the Be A Star poster campaign.

Rachel, 19, of Acomb, who gave birth to daughter Chloe at York Hospital in March, said: “I’ve often had funny looks when breastfeeding my baby in public, so I think it’s great that this campaign shows breastfeeding in a positive light. “I hope it will help to change some of the perceptions that breastfeeding is old-fashioned and no longer socially acceptable, when in reality it’s one of the best things a mother can give her baby.”

Fellow “pin-up” Katherine Barber, of Clifton, said she was never in any doubt about breastfeeding he baby, Theo.

She said: “Putting the health benefits aside, choosing to breastfeed can also make life far easier for you as a mother.

“You don’t need to worry about making-up bottles and it saves a lot of money too.”

Lynn Fitzharris, breastfeeding consultant for NHS North Yorkshire and York, said: “We will use the posters and postcards to raise awareness among young women and hopefully make them see that breastfeeding is not something to be scared or embarrassed about.

“Even if the mother is unable to breastfeed all of the time, some breastfeeding is better than none.”