Shopping with a newborn can prove a challenging time for any new mum. In fact, research now shows that shopping centres have overtaken transport to become the most challenging place for UK mums to breastfeed. [1]

As Covid rules have now relaxed in the UK, many new mums are returning to shopping centres with their newborns, some of whom may not have considered breastfeeding in public yet. To support mums to feel more confident feeding outside of the home, Lansinoh has created a map to show the 10 most breastfeeding-friendly shopping centres in the UK.

The brand analysed over 40 of the largest shopping centres in the UK, taking into account factors such as the number of breastfeeding areas and parenting facilities per visitors, the number of cafés per shops, and the accessibility of parenting services information on centre websites.

The top 10 centres were revealed as:

Silverburn Centre, Glasgow
Eden, Buckinghamshire
White Rose Centre, Leeds
Telford Shopping Centre, Telford
Cabot Circus, Bristol
Lakeside Shopping Centre, Essex
Metrocentre, Gateshead
Brent Cross, London
Victoria Square, Belfast
Queensgate, Peterborough
Lisa Craven, Marketing Manager at Lansinoh Laboratories UK Ltd, said: “We’re delighted to be able to recognise these shopping centres for their efforts in supporting new mums.

“At Lansinoh, we are committed to supporting mums to feed confidently, wherever they are, and as the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world [2], we want to champion the public places where breastfeeding is encouraged and mums are made to feel comfortable. This ties in with our annual Feed with Confidence awards, which we have been running since 2017, to encourage breastfeeding outside of the home and ultimately, to support mums to breastfeed for longer.

“Many new mums who have given birth recently may not have as much experience breastfeeding in public places, due to the pandemic. As rules relax and mums may be returning to shopping centres with their little ones, it can be daunting knowing where to go to breastfeed. It’s important that mums have access to comfortable breastfeeding facilities whilst doing their shopping, and just as importantly, that they know what these facilities are.

“Our research considers the main factors that we know are important to mums – designated breastfeeding areas, parenting facilities and cafés. Meanwhile, we know 79% of new mums say it’s important to know where they can breastfeed when shopping [3], so we felt it was crucial to also consider the ease of accessing this information online.

“We hope that the findings will help mums feel more confident whilst planning their shopping trips, and also encourage shopping centres across the UK to consider ways in which they can further support breastfeeding mums.”

Chris Barnes, General Manager of Brent Cross, commented: “At Brent Cross, we want all our customers to feel comfortable and to support new parents we have a range of amenities to help them plan their trips to the centre including a Family Room, complete with bottle warming and changing facilities. Shopping should be accessible to all, which is why we’re proud to support Lansinoh’s campaign to tackle preconceptions around breastfeeding in public, champion the use of purpose-built facilities in centres, and ultimately, help new mums to shop with confidence.”