WHEN Christina Conboy was hit by a car just four months after having her first child, it did not stop her from breastfeeding. Although Christina was pumped with drugs and antibiotics, she was determined to make a full recovery and resume feeding her baby naturally.

The 30-year-old full time mum-of-one, from South Harrow, said: “It was a difficult time for me, the accident stalled me from breastfeeding and I knew that that’s what I wanted to do with Joshua.

“I was given a lot of support and learned a lot about how to breastfeed correctly and get the latch right. Joshua is 18 months now and I am still breastfeeding him. In the UK people think that you should only do it for six months, but the average all over the world is to stop when the children are four years old. It is these facts that other mums should know about and what we want to offer.”

In celebration of Breastfeeding Awareness Month in June, a group of Harrow mums, which Christina is fronting, published a not-for-profit book called Breastfeeding is Beautiful.

It is packed with a mixture of black and white and coloured pictures of them breastfeeding with their children and next to the pictures are comments written by the mothers about their choice to breastfeed.

Christina, who took the photos for the book, said: “I hate the idea that mums won’t breastfeed because of the perception of breastfeeding in public. That is why we have done this book, to show people.

“We want to make sure that mums know all the facts about breastfeeding so that they can make an educated decision on whether to breastfeed or not.

“In today’s society, getting your breast out in public shocks people, they are not used to it, but breastfeeding is very natural, we want to bring that back into society. Nowadays breasts are over sexualised and this attitude has made breastfeeding very difficult for mothers. Lots of women do not feel comfortable doing it in public.

“Raising awareness during Breastfeeding Awareness Month was crucial, the more people hear and learn about it the more it will become accepted in society. The book is beautiful and we have already sold over 50 copies.”

The group of 22 mothers met through Facebook groups for Harrow mums and local parenting and breastfeeding groups in the borough. They meet about twice a week at various breastfeeding friendly cafes, such as Papa Gateaux in Harrow Weald, and offer each other tips and advice.

They all helped to raise the money to make the book.

Some of the mothers volunteer for breastfeeding advice groups and other parenting groups.

Shani Dale is a 44-year-old mother of five – her eldest child is 25 years old and her youngest, Ella, is two.

Shani said: “I think that it is really important that people breastfeed in public. I have actually had people come up to me and say that they breastfeed in public now after seeing me do it – I think that’s great and more mums should do it.”

Breastfeeding peer support volunteer, Liz O’Donoghue, 33, has one child, Oscar, who is 21 months old.

Liz said: “This book is great, it shows people that breastfeeding is normal. I use the book for my work, it has some great technical positions in it I can show to mothers.”

Co-chairwoman of the Association of Breastfeeding, Emma Pickett, said: “I really encourage what these mothers are doing, it can be very nerve racking as a new mother to breastfeed, but it is completely normal, and the more mothers that do it the more new mums with be inspired too.

“It is a legal and ethical right to breastfeed in public and it is so important that mothers do. Formulas don’t have all the nutrients breast milk has, such as white blood cells and vital vitamins. I would promote breastfeeding in public, if anyone said anything to a mum or complained, they would be breaking the law and that is the same for cafes or restaurants objecting to it.

“I think that nowadays the breast is very sexualised so people don’t want to do it in public, but actually it happens all the time and sometimes people won’t even notice because the baby will be covering the breast.”

n For more information about breastfeeding see www.nct.org.uk/parenting/feeding; the National Breastfeeding Line (government funded) is 0300 100 021.

Breast feeding is Beautiful is available to buy from Christina Conboy at christinac_1983@yahoo.co.uk.