Breastfeeding In The City

When it comes to breastfeeding, Hong Kong is a city of contradictions. LIZ THOMAS shares an update on the #Ittasteslikelove campaign

- Liz Thomas

Women here dress as they please and scantily clad models adorn billboards and shop windows. Yet, public nursing is still something of a taboo. Government hospitals and maternal health centres extol the importance of breastfeeding, but nurses can often be more focused on ensuring “modesty” than guiding new mothers through the process. Breastfeeding in public is perfectly legal, but some 40 percent of mothers who’ve done so say they’ve experienced harassment.

For all its modernity, there’s no escaping that Hong Kong clings on to outdated attitudes in some areas, which can be a shock for new arrivals – and new mothers.

#Ittasteslikelove was set up to tackle the fact that while breastfeeding is natural – the biological norm recommended by the World Health Organisation – some people have become so unused to seeing it that it makes them uncomfortable or even react with hostility. We’re working with the community to ensure parents feel happy nursing however, wherever and whenever they need to.

Who’s getting involved?

Removing the stigma about public breastfeeding starts long before a mother leaves her front door. New parents need educated encouragement from friends, family and employers. They also need community support – there have been too many stories of women forced to nurse in toilets and storerooms or told to cover up or even leave.