Telford Centre is among country's best for breastfeeding, says study
A shopping centre is among the 'breast' in the country when it comes to mums feeding babies.
A company has put together a list of the UK's most breastfeeding-friendly shopping centres and Telford Centre has made the top four.
Calling their list the 'Breast of Britain' breastfeeding and maternal health brand Lansinoh says Telford is only beaten by the Silverburn Centre, Glasgow; Eden, in Buckinghamshire and the White Rose Centre, in Leeds.
The company says that research shows that shopping centres are the most challenging place for mums to breastfeed.
And they have released research to help new mums feel confident feeding in public.
A spokesperson for the company said: "Shopping with a newborn can prove a challenging time for any new mum. In fact, research now shows that shopping centres have overtaken transport to become the most challenging place for UK mums to breastfeed.
"As Covid rules have now relaxed in the UK, many new mums are returning to shopping centres with their newborns, some of whom may not have considered breastfeeding in public yet."
To support mums to feel more confident feeding outside of the home, Lansinoh has created a map to show the 10 most breastfeeding-friendly shopping centres in the UK.
The brand analysed over 40 of the largest shopping centres in the UK, taking into account factors such as the number of breastfeeding areas and parenting facilities per visitors, the number of cafés per shops, and the accessibility of parenting services information on centre websites.
Lisa Craven, marketing manager at Lansinoh Laboratories UK Ltd, said: “We’re delighted to be able to recognise these shopping centres for their efforts in supporting new mums.
“At Lansinoh, we are committed to supporting mums to feed confidently, wherever they are, and as the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, we want to champion the public places where breastfeeding is encouraged and mums are made to feel comfortable.
"This ties in with our annual Feed with Confidence awards, which we have been running since 2017, to encourage breastfeeding outside of the home and ultimately, to support mums to breastfeed for longer.
“Many new mums who have given birth recently may not have as much experience breastfeeding in public places, due to the pandemic.
"As rules relax and mums may be returning to shopping centres with their little ones, it can be daunting knowing where to go to breastfeed.
"It’s important that mums have access to comfortable breastfeeding facilities whilst doing their shopping, and just as importantly, that they know what these facilities are.
“Our research considers the main factors that we know are important to mums - designated breastfeeding areas, parenting facilities and cafés. Meanwhile, we know 79 per cent of new mums say it’s important to know where they can breastfeed when shopping, so we felt it was crucial to also consider the ease of accessing this information online.
“We hope that the findings will help mums feel more confident whilst planning their shopping trips, and also encourage shopping centres across the UK to consider ways in which they can further support breastfeeding mums.”
Katie Broome, marketing manager at Telford Centre said: "To rank 4th in the top 10 of the UK's most breastfeeding friendly shopping centre's is something we are very proud of at Telford Centre.
"We strive to provide the best customer experience for all the family to enjoy our large range of stores and fashion brands.
"Provision of suitable feeding facilities is just one element of our family friendly services that are available which also include a dedicated quiet hour each week. "
The top 10 centres were revealed as:
Silverburn Centre, Glasgow
Eden, Buckinghamshire
White Rose Centre, Leeds
Telford Shopping Centre, Telford
Cabot Circus, Bristol
Lakeside Shopping Centre, Essex
Metrocentre, Gateshead
Brent Cross, London
Victoria Square, Belfast
Queensgate, Peterborough
