Ms Fiona Rea:

I thank the Deputy and I agree with all she has said. Cuidiú's role in the community is to provide continuity of care, including to mothers coming from hospital. Not only that, we provide education and support ahead of birth. A big section of our organisation is antenatal education and we also give postnatal support. Cuidiú sees community care and continuity of care as important. As the Deputy and Ms Cahill have said, this is about information, and if mums do not have the information, they cannot be in a place to make a decision. We need to improve the support we give to mothers ahead of birth.

Our group is really trying to remove isolation, not only arising from a lack of family support but also through women feeling they are not getting support with their breastfeeding.

This is one of the aims of Cuidiú and something we strive to continue to do. We are trying to protect the mental health of mothers as well as the health of their babies and the physical health of mothers through breastfeeding. As an organisation we are trying to hit all of these marks.

The funding we get is terrific and we are delighted with it. It is fantastic to hear that €1.58 million is being put into breastfeeding and that the WHO code will be fully adopted. However, it is only a drop in the ocean. Society needs to change its attitude towards breastfeeding. Human milk is for human babies. There is no two ways about it. There are many reasons human milk is for human babies. Anything else is substitute. I agree that some people may feel under pressure but, as we have said, if they do not have any information, it takes away their choices. We are all for choice and nobody wants anybody to do something they are not happy or comfortable to do. As has been said, feeding on a shop floor is not acceptable so who will be comfortable breastfeeding if they have to feed in a toilet? We have all heard the stories time and again. It is disgraceful that in 2021 we still hear them. These are the issues we have to address and move on from.