Launch of the BAPS breastfeeding mural

Including interviews with Sinn Féin Colr. Sandra Duffy and Baps member Sinead O'Kane.

Transcript

00:00I'm Councillor Sandra Duffy, I'm co-chair of North West Bats.

00:25Tell me about today, what's going on today?

00:28Today we are here outside the Pram Centre launching and unveiling this amazing mural

00:35that is just a testament to the ladies and families who are involved with North West

00:40Bats who have been so dedicated to ensuring that we normalise and make breastfeeding very

00:47official within our city because we have one of the worst breastfeeding rates in the world,

00:52in Western Europe and indeed the world, in this council area, so it's really important

00:57that we get the message out to people that breastfeeding is normal, breastfeeding should

01:01be celebrated and we as a community here should be supporting each other on our breastfeeding

01:06journeys.

01:07Part of the mural is censored, what does that symbolise to you?

01:12Well that symbolises to me in terms of this council area and the difficulties and obstacles

01:17that we have and how it's nearly not normalised and it's nearly censored within our communities

01:22where bottle feeding is seen as the normal way to feed a child whereas breastfeeding

01:28from the beginning of time is the normal way to feed a baby and the bond that that creates

01:34between mummy and baby and family and everyone around that support network is so key but

01:40unfortunately here in this council area it has nearly been censored that women who are

01:45breastfeeding feel that they need to hide away, that they can't do it in public, that

01:49they can't do it in front of people, that they need to be in bedrooms or in their own

01:53home and that then has a knock on effect to feeding the baby.

01:57First off can you introduce yourself please?

01:59I'm Sinead O'Keene and member of BAPS and breastfeeding mummy.

02:03And Sinead can you tell me about the process of getting the mural up to the Pram Centre?

02:08Yeah, it's been a bit of a long drawn out process so we're absolutely delighted that

02:12now it's come to be finished or fruitation as they say.

02:17We wanted to put it up because dairy unfortunately has among the lowest breastfeeding rates in

02:22the world and we thought that because we have so many beautiful murals in this city why

02:27not put another one up to add to the collection, something that's going to make people stop

02:32and think and get a conversation going around it and see if it can increase the rates and

02:38visibility and create awareness around breastfeeding.

02:41Part of the mural is censored, what does that symbolise to you personally?

02:46That's a symbolisation of what it's like to feed here in dairy as it has the lowest figures

02:51in the world.

02:52Unfortunately it's still a bit of a taboo subject, it feels as if it's censored to mums

02:57that are feeding.

02:58We still feel a bit awkward sometimes and people around us would feel a bit awkward

03:02seeing it.

03:03There really is a lack of education here in dairy and we want to know why is it censored,

03:10why is it here that the figures are so low?

03:12We had to censor it because it's a true representation of feeding here in dairy.

03:18We could have put up a beautiful figure breastfeeding but that wouldn't represent what it's like here.