Bainne Beatha

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Inspired by our experiences of Irish Maternity units, this is a campaign led by four mothers to improve Irish breastfeeding support services.

28/05/2026

Cathy, Dublin

I had a wonderful time feeding my two when they were babies. I put a lot of effort into educating myself in advance of my first birth, and was lucky not to have much difficulty with establishing feeding. I had lots of support from my husband at the start, and encouragement from my aunties as my mum passed away when I was 19.

The challenges came when I went back to work. I developed bad separation anxiety, and I was quite unwell for about 9 months. Pumping and breastfeeding helped me feel connected to my daughter through this time and helped me survive. However, my husband found looking after her when I was working (especially at night) very distressing and blamed breastfeeding.

When it came to back to work with my son I asked for shift accommodations which were not given easily. It caused me a lot of stress and I felt very unsupported. I still managed to feed both my children until two and a half, which I am very proud of. I would love to see more support for natural term breastfeeding and normalising feeding older children.

13/05/2026

Kim, Wicklow

"The start of my breastfeeding journey was incredibly difficult and isolating. I felt lost and overwhelmed by the challenges. The support from fellow breastfeeding friends and volunteer breastfeeding groups changed everything for me. Their encouragement helped me finally establish feeding and successfully reach my breastfeeding goals."

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We’re starting a new storytelling series at Bainne Beatha, inspired by Humans of Ireland (remember 2014?!), sharing real stories of infant feeding support.

We’re looking for:
• A photo that represents your feeding journey
• A short reflection in 50 words or less about the support you received while feeding your baby

For some families, support made all the difference.
For others, support was missing, inconsistent, or difficult to access. We want to hear both.

By sharing real experiences, we hope to build a fuller picture of what feeding support looks like for parents, and why better support matters.

Support can come from a midwife, partner, friend, lactation consultant, peer supporter, family member, or from someone who simply showed up when you needed them most.

If you’d like to take part, send us your photo and short piece by DM or email [email protected].

Selected stories will be shared on our page over the coming weeks.

08/05/2026

Deborah - Wicklow

"I had an incredibly difficult start to breastfeeding and didn't get the support I needed. I left the hospital triple feeding: breastfeeding, pumping and formula feeding. Lots of tears and money later, I hired an IBCLC and my breastfeeding journey was saved at 7 weeks. Then I met other mums and found out that many of us had similar experiences. This led me to start Bainne Beatha with other mums to advocate for others to get better support than I did.

On my second baby, it was a quiet weekend on the wards and some very kind and attentive midwives gave me the support I needed to latch. I left the hospital exclusively breastfeeding. I wish everyone had the same experience."

07/05/2026

We’re starting a new storytelling series at Bainne Beatha, inspired by Humans of Ireland (remember 2014?!), sharing real stories of infant feeding support.

We’re looking for:
• A photo that represents your feeding journey
• A short reflection in 50 words or less about the support you received while feeding your baby

For some families, support made all the difference. For others, support was missing, inconsistent, or difficult to access. We want to hear both.

By sharing real experiences, we hope to build a fuller picture of what feeding support looks like for parents, and why better support matters.

Support can come from a midwife, partner, friend, lactation consultant, peer supporter, family member, or from someone who simply showed up when you needed them most.

If you’d like to take part, send us your photo and short piece by DM or email [email protected].

Selected stories will be shared on our page over the coming weeks.

05/05/2026

Today is International Day of the Midwife.

At Bainne Beatha, we asked mothers about their early feeding experiences.
60% told us they received breastfeeding support from a midwife.

Early, skilled support can shape a mother’s confidence, her feeding journey, and her experience of the first days with her baby.

Midwives are present at a critical time, offering guidance, protection, and care when it is needed most. This work deserves recognition and proper support.

Today, we want to acknowledge the midwives who show up for mothers and babies every day.

Please help us recognise them
• Tag a midwife who supported you
• Share a moment that made a difference
• Or simply say thank you

If you are a midwife in this community, we would really like to hear from you.

04/03/2026

We are seeking new volunteers to join our team.

Bainne Beatha is an established grassroots movement working to improve postnatal and community breastfeeding supports through advocacy and research. Our report led to the Minister for Health committing €1.58m to recruit lactation consultants for every maternity unit in the country, and we were instrumental in establishing the first Oireachtas committee focused on breastfeeding. As the work continues to grow, we’re expanding our team.

We’d love to hear from mothers who might like to contribute skills (primarily in social media, organising and admin) but advocacy, communications, lived experience and energy are also valued.

If you’re interested in getting involved, please complete the short survey in our bio so we can understand your interests and availability.

There’s no heavy commitment at this stage, just an expression of interest.

Please feel free to share with anyone who might resonate.

Thank you!

10/11/2025

Today marks President Michael D. Higgins’ final day in office. We at Bainne Beatha want to extend our deepest thanks for his and Sabina’s support over the years.

President Higgins has been a true champion for families, community, and care. Michael D and Sabina’s kindness and generosity in welcoming us to Áras an Uachtaráin each year for the Latch On events have meant so much to parents and babies across Ireland.

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Uachtaráin. You leave an extraordinary legacy of empathy and inclusion.

09/10/2025

It was such a privilege to be back at Áras an Uachtaráin for this year’s National Latching On event. We’re deeply grateful to Sabina and President Michael D. Higgins for their consistent hospitality, warmth and support over the years and we wish them all the very best in the next phase of their lives.

At the heart of Bainne Beatha’s research and advocacy is a desire to reduce the very real grief that arises when breastfeeding support is absent, delayed or inadequate in Ireland’s healthcare system.

This morning, we heard from Dr. Ameera Quideh of who has established lifesaving breastfeeding support in Gaza to help protect infants amidst a devastating formula shortage. For mothers there, the absence of breastfeeding support isn’t just a cause of grief, but a matter of life and death.

May our work here continue to honour and stand in solidarity with mothers everywhere who nurture against the odds. 💛

10/12/2024

Congratulations to all our newly elected TDs.

As part of the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Breastfeeding we look forward to working with new and existing faces including our current vice chair Deputy Senator Marie Sherlock , and other committee members including Deputy Emer Currie to continue the fight for improved supports for families who wish to breastfeed.

We are sorry to see Senator Pauline O'Reilly announce that she will not contest future elections. Pauline was one of the earliest champions of the Breastfeeding Subcommittee and has been the driving force behind it since its formation. The breastfeeding community owes a huge debt of gratitude to Pauline for her dedication to improving supports and normalising breastfeeding in society.

We are also sad to see the departure of Violet-Ann Wynne, Anne Rabbitte and Tom Pringle who have been avid supporters of us and changemakers since the start. We also wish Roisin Shorthall all the best in her retirement.

Finally, we wish to extend a thank you to outgoing Health Minister Stephen Donnelly for Wicklow While we may have been persistent with our requests, he listened and supported the programme.

We are not done yet. In order to provide mothers with the support they need, we still need to:

- Double the number of lactation consultants to ensure IBCLC support is available in all maternity hospitals 7 days per week.
- Provide free breast pumps, where needed, to mothers of sick or pre-term babies
- Fully implement the WHO Code on promoting breastmilk alternatives
- Launch a promotion campaign highlighting breastfeeding supports

09/11/2024

We ask all political parties to pledge their commitment to breastfeeding and child health.

Ireland is consistently ranked as one of the countries with the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe. Mothers, babies, children, and families need timely and skilled breastfeeding support.

We want to see breastfeeding on the political agenda and included in the forthcoming Programme for Government.

We're asking all members and friends to discuss the following with the General Election candidates in your constituency. Get the conversation going!

Stephen Donnelly for Wicklow
Simon Harris TD Micheál Martin Mary Lou McDonald - Sinn Féin Roderic O'Gorman TD Ivana Bacik Paul Murphy TD Holly Cairns TD Peadar Tóibín

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