Milky Moments
Milky Moments is not the usual midwifery academic read; however, it is something of a unique and precious gem of a book. I believe that this book could prove useful to midwives to share with families and the wider public by helping more people to understand that breastfeeding is healthy, normal and gives babies the best start in life.
In terms of normalising breastfeeding in contemporary British society, women are facing the challenge of unlawful bias, inequality and shunning by certain quarters when they choose to publicly breastfeed. This eye-catching, easy-to-read breastfeeding book, aimed at the children of expectant parents or those with a newborn, could also be used in an educative way. By being shared with families, it can be used to help our wider society better understand that breastfeeding is normal, legal in public and a natural way for mothers to choose to nourish their babies. If this message spreads, then in its own way, this book could potentially help reduce the number of cases where women are unlawfully asked to stop breastfeeding in a public area.
It is a very attractive book, featuring beautiful illustrations about normal family-centred life, highlighting breastfeeding as part of that life. Breastfeeding is illustrated as happy, normal and non-intrusive in everyday socialising for family and friends. The book advocates everything that midwives and health professionals aim for from a public health perspective, promoting skin-to-skin contact and loving relationships that encourage bonding and positive parenting.
The text is soft and sweetly portrayed via rhyme in a wonderful effort to engage with young children and their families, but also appealing to adults. Although not a midwifery-focused book, it is one that midwives and maternity support workers can advise families to become engaged with. This is particularly important for women with toddlers during pregnancy or when the new baby is born, where the younger members of the extended family become curious around breastfeeding. The cleverly portrayed story can help demystify breastfeeding, introducing it positively to very young children as a normal, loving act from a mother to her baby.
The book is written by a mother, Ellie Stoneley, who birthed some 3 years ago and still breastfeeds her toddler. The illustrator, Jessica D`Alton, is highly experienced in producing images that are fun for children and adults alike. The book portrays the journey of life as experienced by many families in the UK. The beautiful pictures show home life, holidays, picnics in the park, journeys, socialising in cafés, shopping and family gatherings, where women breastfeed uninterrupted and happily.
The people in the illustrations are based on real people who have experienced birth and breastfeeding in current contemporary society. The book will have widespread appeal to midwives and community health-care workers who work with families not only in the UK, but across Europe and beyond.
In addition, the book will appeal to health visitors, school nurses and peer support workers in the community who spend many hours advising and supporting women to face daily challenges with breastfeeding, either at a clinical level or from a social and emotional perspective.