Loddon Valley supports breastfeeding

Our collective effort to provide mothers and families with confidence in breastfeeding has expanded to Loddon Valley Leisure Centre as it becomes our latest centre to adopt the ‘breastfeeding friendly’ status.

Wokingham Leisure Centre at Carnival Hub signed up for the Breastfeeding Network’s (BfN) Breastfeeding Friendly Scheme last year upon its reopening in August.

Our centre in Lower Earley has now followed suit in a commitment to support mothers in feeding their children. It will join several other of our centres including the new Wokingham-based site that has embraced the scheme. The initiative allows us to officially demonstrate our support in breastfeeding and promote our centres as comfortable places to do so.

Tony Penge, our Contract Manager at Wokingham Leisure Centre commented: “We do our utmost to make all of our leisure centres a welcoming place for families and we know breastfeeding can be a sensitive issue.”

“It is therefore important that mums and families feel happy about feeding their babies in a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere.”

Women can be made to feel uncomfortable because of public views surrounding breastfeeding, particularly in leisure centres and pools. At Places Leisure, the practice of breastfeeding is allowed throughout our centres including in the pool and pool area.

The BfNs scheme exists to do away with the stigma and discrimination surrounding breastfeeding – something that we at Places Leisure take very seriously.