Scarecrows Can Breastfeed Too! - La Leche League International

Sue Smith, St Helens, United Kingdom

Mothers of La Leche League Widnes and St Helens have been getting very creative! To celebrate a local scarecrow festival they created a life-size replica of a breastfeeding mother and baby.

Named “Mother Nurture,” the adorable scarecrow mother and child were displayed having a breastfeeding break sitting in a local coffee shop as part of the Rainhill Scarecrow Festival.

The scarecrow, which took two weeks to make, has a box of biscuits and a bottle of water handy, while the mother nurses her little one.

Judging took place over the weekend of 2-3 November 2019 and everyone was thrilled to hear that they had won the competition.

LLL Leader Sue Smith explained

“I live in a place called St Helens which is surrounded by countryside and rural activities such as pheasant plucking, ploughing competitions and barn dancing. When I heard about the Scarecrow Festival, I thought it sounded like a great way to reach out to the community and get people talking about LLL Widnes and St Helens—after all, it’s not every day you see a breastfeeding scarecrow!

“I didn’t think about winning a prize—just about a great opportunity for publicity, so when we were announced as the People’s Choice winner, I was astounded. Our prizes were a £50.00 voucher for the coffee shop, a high street gift voucher and a £50.00 donation to our Group.

“The scarecrow has provided a talking point for the local community and also provided a wonderful opportunity for mothers of the Group, to come together, work on a project and build on friendships. The owner of the café is keen to support our Group as a venue, and we hope to be able to hold café style events at Caffe & Co from the new year and enjoy the speciality coffees, milkshakes and home-made ice creams that they serve.”

Thanks to: Terri Mitchell, Sam Wedge, Natalie Wedge, Elizabeth Creaghan and James Schorah and Alice Rae who built the scarecrow and Jade Maloney, Nikki Ashton, Gail Williamson, Marie O’Dell and Lynsey Morgan for their ideas and provision of resources.

The parents directly involved in the building of the scarecrow were (from left—right) Sam Wedge, (Scarecrow), Natalie Wedge (with Theo), Elizabeth Creaghan (with Luke) and James Schorah and Alice Rae (not pictured). Front: Terri Mitchell (with Colt) and Neil Osthoff, owner of Caffe & Co, where the scarecrow was placed for the festival.

After the prize presentation, where parents enjoyed complimentary coffees and milkshakes in the café (courtesy of one of the prizes we won).

Parents with LLL Leader Sue Smith (left).

Sue Smith has been a Leader for five years but has been involved with La Leche League in different guises for around 15 years through the LLL Peer Counsellor programme. Sue lives in St Helens in the United Kingdom.