Portraying a positive picture that breast is best

The Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA) is enlisting the support of local art students with the launch of a competition to design a poster to encourage and promote breastfeeding particularly among young mums.

The competition is open to all students studying an art and or design discipline at the University of Ulster School of Art and Design and further education colleges throughout Northern Ireland.

“This is a terrific opportunity for students to earn some cash as the winner will not only receive £500, but their poster will be used to launch National Breastfeeding Awareness Week (NBAW) a major event in the health calendar. It would also be a valuable asset to the student’s portfolio,” says Janet Calvert, Regional Breastfeeding Coordinator at the HPA.

“We want students to develop a poster that will catch young people’s attention with the aim of changing current perceptions surrounding breastfeeding. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months with continued breastfeeding up to two years of age, yet in Northern Ireland only 14% of mothers are still breastfeeding at six months.¹

“This is an extremely challenging area for publichealth given the predominant bottlefeeding culture here. Research also shows that women are less likely to breastfeed if they are from lower socioeconomic groups, under 20 years of age and have left school by the time they are 16 years old.”

Breastfeeding is good for mother and baby as breastfeeding women are less likely tosuffer certain illnesses such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer or osteoporosis. Breastfed babies are less likely to suffer from ear, chest and kidney infections, gastroenteritis, childhood obesity, diabetes and severe eczema as there are special components in breastmilk which boost the immune system.

Supporting the competition, Dr Barbara Dass, Head of School of Art and Design at the University of Ulster, said: “This is a great opportunity for art and design students to make a positive contribution to the enhancement of public health in Northern Ireland.”

Details of the competition have been distributed to eligible students and the closing date for this initiative is 13 March. The final top 10 entries selected by a judging panel will also be exhibited. For further information and to download an application form, visit: http://www.healthpromotionagency.org.uk/BF_competition_application.pdf

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Notes to the editor:
Information about the competition is attached.
¹ Infant Feeding Survey 2005 commissioned for Northern Ireland by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.

The poster competition is running through the following campuses:
University of Ulster Art & Design
Northern Regional College
North West Regional College
Southern Regional College
South Eastern Regional College
South West College
Belfast Metropolitan College

For media enquiries contact:
The HPA Press Office on 028 9031 1611.