MORE than 75 per cent of UK mums now breastfeed their babies – and as Charlotte Church recently told the Welsh Assembly, breastfeeding is "free and really convenient – especially in the middle of the night."

But while many mums are happy to breastfeed behind closed doors, some feel uncomfortable about breastfeeding in public, which is one of the main issues at the forefront of this year's National Breastfeeding Awareness Week.

Although the statistic of 75 per cent sounds impressive, the UK actually has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe and most mums resorting to formula within weeks – fewer than half are still breastfeeding by the time their child is six weeks old.

So mums, midwives and health workers across Yorkshire are joining forces to shout "Breast is Best" from the rooftops during this year's celebrations, as well as raise awareness of the associated health benefits for mums and babies.

Embarrassed

This year's events in Leeds, which include a promotional bus and a mass breastfeed at Ikea, also aim to help mums feel more confident about breastfeeding in public, without feeling ashamed, uncomfortable or embarrassed.

"I think there's a fear about breastfeed-ing in public because mums are self-conscious," said Breast Buddies director Kathryn Holme, who organised the Breastfeeding Belles poster campaign, which shows women breastfeeding at some of the city's top attractions.

"Initially I was a bit nervous about breastfeeding my son, Reuben, but nobody ever said anything horrible to me. I was quite fortunate about that.

"The Breastfeeding Belles campaign aims to show that when mums breastfeed, it's not in-your-face. It's very discreet.

"It's also designed to congratulate women for feeling confident about breastfeeding and giving them more encouragement to do so."

According to health workers, breast milk is the only food that contains all the nutrients, antibodies, hormones and antioxidants a baby needs to thrive, while stimulating their immune system and response to vaccination.

And not only is it best for baby, it's best for mum too – breastfeeding burns 500 calories a day, helping to regain that pre-pregnancy figure, as well as reducing chances of breast and ovarian cancer.

However, although research from the Department of Health shows that 84 per cent of people have no problem with women breastfeeding in public; 73 per cent of mums say they stopped breastfeeding before they wanted to.

Mum-of-two Alisa Stevenson, of Halton Moor, Leeds, was forced to stop feeding her son Harry, now five, when he was six months old because she underwent major brain surgery in a bid to tackle epilepsy.

However, the 30-year-old – who posed with her youngest son Rowan for the Breastfeeding Belles campaign – told the YEP that taking her medication did not affect her ability to breastfeed.

"Harry was already exposed to small amounts of the medication while he was in the womb," she explained. "So it didn't affect him when small amounts came out in the breast milk.

"Harry was a premature baby and at first I found it very difficult to breastfeed. But he was born with a bowel condition and breast milk was the best thing to treat it.

"It's a common misconception that when you're on medication, you can't breastfeed. When I was pregnant with Harry, the midwives said I shouldn't breastfeed; but when I asked a specialist, he said there was no reason why I couldn't.

"I can understand why mums feel uncomfortable with breastfeeding in public, but it's never something I've had a problem with. I often find that the ones who you might think would be repulsed by it, find it the most natural."

Although Alisa has never encountered any problems while breastfeeding in public, many other mums have – back in 2006, Horsforth mum Lindsay Cooper was asked to leave a health club when she breastfed her son Calum in the café.

And earlier this year, Hollywood actress Maggie Gyllenhaal hit the headlines after she was photographed breastfeeding her daughter Ramona on a park bench, once again raising the controversial issue of whether it was right to breastfeed in public.

But thousands of people, including Leeds MPs Greg Mulholland, Fabian Hamilton, John Battle and Paul Truswell, have signed up to support the Breastfeeding Manifesto, which would make it illegal for women to be harassed or discrimin-ated against for breastfeeding in public.

"People who feel uncomfortable about women breastfeeding in public are just old-fashioned and don't understand the way that breastfeeding works," said breastfeeding counsellor Sarah Powell, who is organising today's mass breastfeed at Ikea.

"Women can't put their lives on hold so that they can stay indoors to breastfeed.

"I think the pictures of Maggie Gyllenhaal caused such a shock because breastfeeding isn't really seen in the media as much these days, it's not seen in soaps or anything like that. But many celebrity mums breastfeed because they know the benefits."

The mass breastfeed is not the only event taking place during National Breastfeeding Awareness Week – the Breastfeeding Belles poster campaign, organised by Breast Buddies, is on display in The Light until Monday.

A party was held at the David Lloyd Centre in Moortown for the Leeds Primary Care Trust's support group Bosom Buddies, while a promotional bus is doing the rounds in Leeds, with several health workers on hand to offer advice and support about breastfeeding.

Mum-to-mum support groups are also being launched by the Leeds National Childbirth Trust in Morley and Gildersome, to run alongside the Batley baby cafe, which is compiling a list of breastfeeding-friendly venues in the area.

And although the issue of breastfeeding in public is a hot topic – Leeds PCT has also organised an advertising campaign on the sides of buses – "Breast is Best" is still the key message for this year's National Breastfeeding Awareness Week.

"I think the message now is 'Breast is normal'," said Kathryn, who set up Breast Buddies to provide a support network for breastfeeding mums.

"It's the norm to breastfeed and anything else is not as good. I do think the issue of breastfeeding is starting to become less taboo but it would be useful to have more celebrity role models like Charlotte Church, who is brilliant at advocating breastfeeding."

l Breast Buddies is looking for people to take part in their next training sessions on Saturday, June 7 and Saturday, June 14, from 9.30am until 3.30pm at Swarcliffe Children's Centre, Leeds. For more information or to sign up, call Kathryn on 0113 260 4187 or email director@breastbuddies.org.