UL hosts symposium on “promoting breastfeeding for future generations”

As part of National Breastfeeding Week 2024, a symposium entitled “Promoting Breastfeeding for Future Generations: The Role of Practitioners and Students on Campus and The Wider Community” was held this week at University of Limerick.

Low breastfeeding rates in Limerick and the wider Midwest region were a catalyst for academics from UL’s Department of Nursing and Midwifery, School of Allied Health, and School of Education to host this symposium in association with ‘Healthy UL’ and Limerick City and County Council’s ‘We’re Breastfeeding Friendly Limerick’ initiative.

Bringing together key stakeholders and changemakers from the region, the symposium provided a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration with the aim of developing an enabling environment to breastfeed on the UL campus and beyond.

“Our students are the lifeblood of our professions and we were excited to be joined by expert practitioners across disciplines of midwifery, dietetics, initial teacher education, breastfeeding support organisations and parents to discuss this important public health matter,” said Dr Sylvia Murphy Tighe, Associate Professor at the Department of Nursing and Midwifery.

After a welcome from Professor Pauline Meskell, Head of the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Senator Pauline O’Reilly, Vice Chair of the Gender Equality Committee and Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Breastfeeding, officially opened the event.

Professor Roy Philip, Consultant Neonatologist & Paediatrician at University Hospital Limerick, presented his recent research on rates of breastfeeding in Ireland over the past two decades and recommended priorities for improvement.

BSc student midwife and Health Research Board Summer Scholarship awardee Andrea Pasztor presented her research, which explored the experiences, opinions and attitudes of UL students and staff stakeholders on breastfeeding.

Healthy UL manager Sarah Kennedy outlined the work underway with the Healthy Campus action plan to raise awareness of the need for appropriate breastfeeding facilities to reduce barriers to continuing breastfeeding for members of the UL campus community on their return to work or study.

PhD researcher Jennifer Kehinde shared her findings on how prenatal breastfeeding education classes influence mothers’ breastfeeding decisions.

The keynote address ‘Breastfeeding Promotion Amongst Primary and Secondary School Children in South Tipperary’ was delivered by Claire Ferris, midwife infant specialist at Tipperary University Hospital and Midwife of the Year who is working to highlight breastfeeding as a feeding choice and normalise it among the younger generation.

Central to the event was a discussion where focus groups were asked to contribute ideas for developing an implementation plan for breastfeeding initiatives on the university campus as Dr Murphy Tighe explained:

“An objective of the day was to engage our attendees to co-create and map an implementation plan in relation to breastfeeding for our campus community. By communicating and supporting students, staff and visitors on the UL campus we can ensure it has a strong culture of promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding families.

“Breastfeeding is so connected to human health, the prevention of chronic illness and indeed caring for our environment and is a sustainable choice from a climate change perspective.”

A panel discussion followed featuring Jennifer Byrne (lecturer in nursing and breastfeeding mother), Enobong Asuquo (nurse, PhD researcher and breastfeeding mother), Dr Chris Fogarty (Energy Manager with UL Buildings and Estates and father of three breastfed children), and Rob Hickey (Health and Safety Officer, UL). The discussion openly acknowledged the challenges of breastfeeding within an environment where transgenerational knowledge and skills of breastfeeding have been lost but, with timely support, can be overcome.

Dr Jennifer Hennessy, Associate Professor in Education at the School of Education and Assistant Dean International for the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences at UL emphasised the importance of fostering interprofessional connections supporting a multi-disciplinary informed change design:

“The symposium serves as a pioneering response supporting the identification of actions to support breastfeeding families across the region. 

“It provided a vibrant and inclusive space for dialogue, knowledge co-creation and representation, providing empowering interprofessional insights on the development of nurturing and enabling environments for breastfeeding families.

“Research demonstrates that decisions to breastfeed are often made prior to conception and as early as adolescence. As such, the role of our future practitioners working with young people in and across the community was critical as part of this dialogue.”

Also in attendance was UL graduate and graphic recorder Leah O Donoghue, who operated as a visual notetaker for the symposium and created a thematic artwork piece from the insights generated at the event.

The event was closed by Olivia O’Brien, Healthy Limerick Coordinator who spoke about the ‘We’re Breastfeeding Limerick initiative’.

Reflecting on the success of the event, Dr Anne Griffin, Associate Professor in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at UL’s School of Allied Health said: “Breastfeeding is not just a personal choice; it is a natural and essential practice that nurtures the health and well-being of our future generations.

“As a society, we must embrace and support breastfeeding by recognising it as the preferred way to nourish infants and young children. This means creating inclusive environments where mothers feel empowered to breastfeed anytime, anywhere, without judgement or barriers.

“Together, we can build a culture that celebrates and supports the natural nurturing between mother and child, ensuring a healthier future for all.”