Churches should ‘lead the way’ for breastfeeding mums

Creating family-friendly church services will encourage new mothers to attend Mass, a Limerick-based priest has said.

Fr Seamus Enright, Rector of the Redemptorist Fathers at Mount St Alphonsus Church, said that reassuring women that breastfeeding is acceptable at Mass will make mothers feel comfortable in going and bringing their children.

“I suppose we’ve always operated on the basis here that everybody is welcome and I suppose just trying to make the place friendly – child-friendly, and mother-friendly as is possible”, Fr Enright told The Irish Catholic.

His remarks come after the church officially signed up to the We’re Breastfeeding Friendly Limerick initiative this month.

The campaign is supported by Limerick City and County Council and Healthy Ireland and aims to improve the health and wellbeing of breastfeeding mothers, babies and their families by encouraging businesses, organisations and communities to become ‘Breastfeeding Friendly’.

Response

Fr Enright said the initiative has had a very positive response and hopes mothers and families will choose to attend Mass in light of it.

“I’ve been talking to women and they tell me they’re not sure, they get embarrassed around baptisms,” he said, adding there’s no harm in signalling that all are welcome.

“I think one of the things that might be happening is that people are staying at home because they’re not sure if they’re welcome or not,” he said.

Commenting on the initiative, columnist Wendy Grace, said that all churches are public places and so breastfeeding is always an acceptable practice there. She added that in spite of this fact, some families are worried about it and are also nervous about bringing their young children to Mass in general, so initiatives like these should be encouraged.

“I don’t know why every church wouldn’t stick the sticker on the door, because it is like any public place, and why shouldn’t we lead the way, why not?” she said.