Very First National Brelfie Day

It is National Breastfeeding Week from October 1st-7th and Ireland is celebrating their very first National Brelfie Day.

Normalising breastfeeding is an ongoing battle and although positive changes have been made, their is still a long way to go. Celebrating breastfeeding this week is one more step in the direction to normalising it. Friends of Breastfeeding are having a virtual Breastfeeding Week to celebrate all things breastfeeding.

Everyone’s breastfeeding journey is different and special in their own right. Whether you breastfed for a day or were lucky enough to breastfeed for as long as you wanted or pumped, it doesn’t matter. Both should be celebrated and you should be incredibly proud. When breastfeeding, whether in public or in the comfort of your own home, you shouldn’t feel embarrassed. No one should be making you feel this way, everyone needs to understand that is 100% normal and natural.

 

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BREASTFEEDING WEEK 🌏 How incredible is this momma @cashiegurl who was inspired by her baby to donate 1,400 ozs of breastmilk to a milk bank in Florida 🙌 To all the the moms having their boobs sucked on day in and day out, we are in awe of you 🤱 We are here to celebrate all of you who are able to breastfeed, you are amazing. Whether you breastfed for a moment, a day, a week, a month or a year, you and your body are amazing and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise 👏 But we will never judge anyone for how they choose to feed their baby. A FED BABY IS BEST. Let’s not shame anyone for their choices, but build everyone up for the phenomenal job they are doing at feeding their child..it’s hard! 🤱 #breastfeeding #breastfeedingweek #normalisebreastfeeding #breastfeedingmom #newparents #yourchoice #yourbody #postpartum #postpartumbody #fedbaby

A post shared by Pregnancy & Parenting (@pregnancyparentingmagazine) on Aug 7, 2020 at 10:06am PDT

If you weren’t able to breastfeed, and had to use formula, you should also be celebrated and feel proud. Being a parent is difficult and having a fed baby is what is most important.

Very First National Brelfie Day

On October 3rd, Ireland’s first Brelfie Day, Irish women from all over will be sharing selfies of themselves breastfeeding on social media with the hashtag brelfie2020.

This day will highlight the amazing breastfeeding moments. Breastfeeding is difficult and not all moments are beautiful. We are sure we will see a variety of Brelfie’s, from hard moments, to amazing ones. But it is the fact that stories are being shared, the beautiful and the ugly. Knowing you aren’t alone and that someone is going through something similar, makes the world of difference. Hopefully seeing the Brelfie’s online will help empower women and give them the confidence they need.

Jennifer Phillips, Chairperson of Friends of Breastfeeding said “There’ll be newborn ‘look at that contented face’ brelfies; ouchie soothing brelfies; alfresco forest and beach brelfies; as well as dressed up ‘who’d have thought I could feed in this’ brelfies, alongside dirty hair and stained PJs brelfies. All beautiful. All normal. All celebrated”.

For breastfeeding support visit www.friendsofbreastfeeding.ie and for more information about National Breastfeeding Week visit the HSE website.