Latest news with #FionaFotheringham
Glasgow Times
01-08-2025
- Health
- Glasgow Times
North Lanarkshire Council back World Breastfeeding Week 2025
This figure was revealed as North Lanarkshire council announced its plans to mark World Breastfeeding Week 2025, which runs from August 1-7. In North Lanarkshire, 50.7% of newborns are now breastfed, marking the highest rate to date for the area. Read more: Law firm recognised by Scottish Parliament for charity work in Glasgow (Image: North Lanarkshire Council) The council hopes this figure reflects a growing awareness among new mothers of the benefits of breastfeeding, both for their child's health and for the environment. Councillors Geraldine Woods and Fiona Fotheringham also tabled a motion at a full council meeting in support of World Breastfeeding Week. The motion recognised the efforts of council staff, NHS Lanarkshire's Infant Feeding and Maternity Services staff, and other partner organisations to support breastfeeding in the area. To mark World Breastfeeding Week, North Lanarkshire Council's depute leader Louise Roarty visited one of the many breastfeeding groups in the area. She said: "Everyone has a role to play in creating supportive and sustainable environments for breastfeeding, and hearing from parents and carers at their local Breastfeeding Group reaffirms this. "Providing welcoming spaces across our communities and workplaces to support new parents breastfeeding, educating our young people, and changing the culture of breastfeeding to be seen as the norm are key to increasing breastfeeding rates and creating healthier communities. "Breastfeeding is a natural, renewable food that is environmentally safe, produced and delivered without pollution, packaging or waste, and is the sustainable solution that is good for the planet and its people. "It's incredible to think that while breastfeeding mums are also protecting the environment too." Read more: New Lanarkshire programme helps parents create healthier, smoke-free homes (Image: North Lanarkshire Council) The council is working with partners across the area to drive a cultural shift in attitudes towards breastfeeding. This includes creating breastfeeding-friendly environments at all levels, including healthcare, education, the workplace, and within the community. The council also achieved gold status in the first-ever Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Local Authority Award, acknowledging its dedication to supporting breastfeeding in both the workplace and the wider community.
Daily Record
24-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Breastfeeding motion at North Lanarkshire Council meeting passes unanimously
Councillors Geraldine Woods and Fiona Fotheringham marked the anniversary of the Breastfeeding (Scotland) Act, which resulted from a Private Member's Bill presented by former MSP Elaine Smith. A motion passed at a full meeting of North Lanarkshire Council marked the progress made locally with regard to breastfeeding in the 20 years since legislation came into effect. Councillors Geraldine Woods (Labour, Coatbridge South) and Fiona Fotheringham (SNP, Wishaw) marked the anniversary of the Breastfeeding (Scotland) Act, which resulted from a Private Member's Bill presented by former MSP Elaine Smith. At the meeting Councillor Woods said: 'There can be no better start in life for babies than to get their mother's milk. It is designer made by mums for their baby,' before mentioning numerous health benefits breastfeeding provides to both mother and baby. Councillor Woods also elaborated on the importance of the 2005 Act, explaining that it made it an offence to attempt to stop a mother from breastfeeding in public. She said challenging this behaviour could undermine the confidence of mothers and put them off breastfeeding, which is dictated by demand from the baby and thus had to be permitted everywhere. Seconding, Councillor Fotheringham said her daughter had been born in 2006, soon after the Act came into effect, and that she had seen a 'massive shift' in how women were empowered to breastfeed, before talking about her experiences with her own children and adding that she had shared stories with many other mothers and acknowledged those who were unable or unwilling to do so. The motion celebrated the fact North Lanarkshire had recently surpassed the 50 per cent milestone for breastfeeding of newborn babies, and congratulated the work of NHS Lanarkshire's Infant Feeding and Maternity Services, as well as those in the council and partner organisations. It also acknowledged that not all mothers are capable of breastfeeding so efforts to promote its benefits must be supportive, non-judgemental, and inclusive. READ MORE: The motion further commended NHS Lanarkshire's maternity services for their collaboration with both North and South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnerships, which earned them the UNICEF Achieving Sustainability Gold Baby Friendly Accreditation and supported participation in World Breastfeeding Week which begins on August 1. No amendments were presented in relation to this motion so it was carried unanimously. And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.
