CORNER BROOK — The results are in, but the Healthy Baby Club in Corner Brook says there is a lot more to be done to educate businesses and the general public when it comes to accommodating breastfeeding moms.
The organization issued a challenge during the month of April to see what locations in and around the city could be the most breastfeeding friendly.
Property owners were asked to not only provide a discreet space for nursing mothers, but amenities like change tables and maybe even a place for other kids to play while their siblings fed. The hope was to also have staff educated and informed about the location’s breastfeeding policy.
According to the month-long survey’s results, The Employment Preparation Centre on Main Street was the most accommodating of the roughly 60 locations asked to participate.
Raelene Flynn, who runs the Healthy Baby Club at the Family Outreach Centre on O'Connell Drive in Corner Brook, was impressed with the effort made by businesses and organizations.
“I think the challenge went well and did raise awareness of the normality of breastfeeding and the need to have a comfortable space for nursing customers,” said Flynn. “However there is still a lot of work to be done on the issue, which was evident by some of the attitudes encountered during this challenge.”
Some places simply did not think providing a place to breastfeed was an issue they needed to be concerned about, said Flynn.
“One manager told us that they could breastfeed on the change table, which is impossible,” she said.
Another store owner told Flynn no one breastfeeds there, so they did not need to do anything about it.
“We later discovered that one of our participants had to leave that same store and breastfeed in her car,” said Flynn. “It shows the lack of awareness on the topic.”
Top 10 places to publicly breastfeed in Corner Brook:
1. Employment Preparation Centre
2. Lawtons Drugs
3. Corner Brook Public Library
4. Dunfield Park Community Centre
5. Jungle Jim’s
6. Corner Brook Plaza
7. Brewed on Bernard
8. Harbour Grounds
9. McDonald's
10. Pizza Delight (Murphy Square)
Source: Healthy Baby Club
