TIMMINS, Ont. — A health unit in a northern Ontario community is putting life-size cardboard cut-outs of women nursing their children around the city in the hope it will help reduce the stigma around breastfeeding in public.
Meagan Potvin, a nurse with the Porcupine Health Unit in Timmins, Ont., says the campaign is aimed at reminding people that breastfeeding is healthy and natural, and that women shouldn’t be discouraged from nursing their children in public.
She says about 80 per cent of women in the area start breastfeeding after giving birth, but that number starts to decline after a few months partly because of the fear of discrimination or being asked to cover up.
The Breastfeeding Models are unveiled at the launch of the Porcupine Health Unit’s “Breastfeeding in Public” campaign at the Urban Park in Timmins.
As part of the campaign, which started this week, the cut-outs will be placed in front of public places such as restaurants, retailers and government buildings.
Potvin says the campaign so far has received plenty of local support, with businesses signing up to display the cut-outs and promote themselves as breastfeeding-friendly spaces.
Four local mothers were selected to be on the cut-outs, which will later also be used in smaller communities in the region.
