Forth Valley Sensory Centre has become the first organisation in the area to sign up to the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme
A charity has been praised for protecting the rights of woman who want to breastfeed.
Forth Valley Sensory Centre has become the first organisation in the area to sign up to the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme. This means the charity, located in Camelon, has agreed to protect the legal rights of women who want to breastfeed on their premises as well as supporting mothers to do so.
Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland (BFS) is a free national scheme where businesses sign up to actively support and protect the rights of mothers who breastfeed in public places. All staff within the premises of organisations are aware of their responsibilities, in particular if someone complains or tries to stop a mother breastfeeding, staff will enforce the laws which allow a mother to continue to feed her child.
Businesses and organisations who join the BFS scheme will display a certificate and stickers with the BFS logo so that mothers know that breastfeeding is welcome but also the business understands the law.
Forth Valley Sensory Centre is a registered charity, which supports people with sight and hearing loss across Forth Valley. It is a unique purpose built facility, which opened in 2006. The charity provides a variety of groups and classes for people of all ages and includes a Café and Sensory Garden, which are both open to the public.
Centre manager Jacquie Winning said: “One of our key principles here is to be open and accessible so we were delighted to be invited to sign up to the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme. As well as the café we also have a sensory room and our outdoor sensory garden, both of which are popular with young families and we want breastfeeding mums to feel welcome and comfortable”
“As part of the Breastfeeding Scotland Friendly initiative, we will never ask a breastfeeding mum to stop or move seats. We will confidently explain to anyone who may complain that it is a person’s right to feed their child without fear or prejudice. This is a really good idea and we hope that more organisations and public spaces will follow our lead and sign up.”
Lesley Hetherington, infant feeding coordinator for NHS Forth Valley, said: “As a charity that welcomes and supports people of all ages and has a public café at its heart, as well as other super facilities it is great to have the centre on-board.
“We hope this will be the first of many new signatories in the area and we can make Falkirk, and Forth Valley a truly Breastfeeding Friendly place to be.”
