Charlotte Purdie, a mother from Nottingham, UK, has opened a breastfeeding cafe built specifically to cater to the needs of nursing mums.
Purdie claims that she was inspired to establish the mum-friendly venue after she couldn’t find a place that was “clean and comfortable” enough to feed her baby. She had a vision that ended up culminating in the now famous establishment, The Milk Station.
“I asked my husband to take some time off so I could spend a few months working on the business model,” Charlotte said in her interview with BBC News. “I approached a couple of funding bodies and I got offered a £25,000 investment. I did my research and checked out local schools, what the birth rate was in my local areas and what the breastfeeding rate was,” she added.
The rest is history.
Source: bbc.com/news/uk
It might sound like a crazy business model, especially considering that it seemingly alienates half of the population. Charlotte argues that that’s not the case at all:
“It is not just aimed at breastfeeding mothers. There are bottle warming facilities for mums who use formula milk. Dads are as welcome and as important as mums are here. We prepare fresh fruit and vegetable dishes for baby-led weaning, so it’s not just aimed at breastfeeding mums. And there are toy stations for older children on every corner.”
Clearly, The Milk Station aims to be a suitable hang out for everyone, not to mention it’s one of the only purpose-built venues for nursing mums in the world. Talk about progressive!
Breastfeeding is always a bit of a polarizing topic. Some people still believe that breastfeeding in public places is unacceptable, while others find it foolish to abhor such a natural act.
Mothers in Nottingham, and everywhere, can certainly appreciate the effort that Purdie has put in to fighting the stigma of publicly breastfeeding. Hopefully, her trendy and progressive business model catches on and mothers worldwide can find suitable feeding environments wherever they go!
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