Scores of women turned out at a breastfeeding rally in Inverness to show their support for a mother who was branded a tramp online for feeding her baby in public.
A crowd of around 100, mainly mothers and their young children, gathered in Falcon Square in the centre of the city on Saturday, with many breastfeeding their babies.
The event organisers, breastfeeding peer support workers Tania Daschofsky and Laurna Hislop, and NHS Highland infant feeding adviser Karen Mackay, said they were amazed at the huge show of support from mothers who travelled from as far afield as Caithness and Elgin to help challenge negative attitudes towards women who breastfeed in public.
The event was one of a string of mass breastfeeding rallies organised around the country to support Emily Slough, from Staffordshire, who was secretly photographed while breastfeeding her seven-month-old daughter in the street.
The image was posted online with a caption branding the mum a “tramp”.
The 27-year-old said she “wholeheartedly supported” the Inverness event.
Mrs Mackay said: “It was really well attended.
“We wanted to raise the profile of breastfeeding, especially in public, and to make the point that it doesn’t matter how you feed your baby, if it is breast or bottle, every baby has the right to be fed if it is hungry.
“Everyone has been really supportive and we heard really positive stories of breastfeeding around Inverness and elsewhere in the Highlands, so that was great.”
Mrs Mackay said they were now looking into holding breastfeeding picnics in parks around the Highlands later this year to mark Breastfeeding Awareness Week.
Mrs Daschofsky said: “More people were there than I expected.
“I think it’s important for breastfeeding mothers to feel comfortable and confident when out and about. If a baby is hungry it’s going to need feeding and it is not fair to make it wait.
“We also thought it was important to back up Emily after what happened to her.
“The public reaction was quite positive. Nothing negative was said and one person came up and congratulated us.”
She said that when she breastfeeds her nine-month-old son, Logan, in Inverness she “gets the odd look” but has had no negative reaction.