Normalise breastfeeding: Collab with Stephydraws

As a new Mum you are overwhelmed by a myriad of emotions; Love is by far the biggest one of all. However, feeling vulnerable is also a strong concern for many women and, more often than not, new Mum’s are in need of support rather than advice.

In Gloucestershire we are lucky to have access to a fantastic charity which supports many women, including their wider family members, during pregnancy and in particular throughout motherhood.

However you choose to feed your baby, the Gloucestershire Breastfeeding Supporters’ Network (GBSN) is there to listen to you, empower your decisions, share information, suggest options and, most importantly, make you a cup of tea!

I recently completed my Peer Supporter Training which was entirely funded by GBSN. My voluntary role as a Peer Supporter for GBSN enables me to support new mothers to help them to feel empowered and supported to make their own decisions in aid of their own breastfeeding journey.

My friend and illustrator Steph Gale completed her Peer Supporter Training alongside me and has now turned her talents towards the continued support of GBSN.

Her ‘Normalise human milk’ vinyl stickers are 10x10cm and are designed to spread the word and end gender constraints on a mothers breasts and nipples. As Steph herself explains: ‘Normalising breastfeeding is so much more than keeping lactating parents off public loo seats, or making sure breastfeeders can ‘get it out’ down the freezer aisle in the supermarket. It’s about choice without dangerous and deceptive ‘advice’. It’s about doctors, nurses, health visitors and midwives being able to factually help a breastfeeding relationship. It’s recognising that the living, ever adapting milk we humans produce is not just food. It’s knowing we can share it. It’s knowing that a drop of breastmilk is great for your kids cuts and scrapes and gammy eyes. It’s knowing that in a society of breastfeeders a baby born rich or poor will know no poverty whilst they receive the same decent start. It’s knowing that our toddlers and children deserve the best too.’

To purchase a sticker please visit her dedicated Etsy shop here where £1 from each sticker sale will be donated to the Gloucestershire Breastfeeding Supporters’ Network. I’m also delighted to say that my thrifty blog readers can get a fantastic 20% off Steph’s wonderful creations by using the code THRIFTY20 on Etsy for purchases made by Thursday 7th December 2017.

If you have directly benefitted from the support provided by GBSN, have breastfed your child/ren or are planning to in the future and would appreciate this kind of help in your community then we would be delighted for you to make a purchase in support of this fantastic cause.

It is so important to continue to normalise breastfeeding for our generation, the next and the many more after that.

For further information about Steph and to view her incredible illustrations please visit her dedicated website and find her on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

For further information about the Gloucestershire Breastfeeding Supporters’ Network please visit the charity’s website and find them on Facebook.

Has the GSBN helped you? Will you be purchasing a vinyl sticker? Comment below and let us know!

Love, Thrifty Mumma X

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