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Model praises breastfeeding scheme |
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Written by The Press Association
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Tuesday, 23 June 2009 |
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 Supermodel Elle Macpherson has met new mothers and babies to celebrate a hospital's high standard of breastfeeding care.
A decade ago, the Royal Oldham Hospital was one of the first UK hospitals to gain Unicef Baby Friendly accreditation - an award given to maternity units in recognition of their support for breastfeeding mothers.
Ms Macpherson visited the hospital to mark the tenth anniversary of its award and to present certificates for its continued achievement.
The mother-of-two, a Unicef UK ambassador, said: "I've been to this hospital, I've tracked the way that breastfeeding has been embraced over the last few years.
Ms Macpherson, known as 'The Body', also presented a certificate to North Manchester General Hospital for securing Baby Friendly accreditation for a second time.
"Coming from Australia where breastfeeding is so natural, and not to have the support that I've seen, in this country there have been many women that just don't have the support," she said.
"It's just wonderful to see that these two incredible hospitals are encouraging this and making so much progress, and I'm really proud to be part of this initiative because I think it's really, really important."
New mother Melissa Thorley from Chadderton said it had been "very exciting" to have the supermodel on the ward.
Cradling her one-day-old baby daughter Mia in her arms, the 37-year-old said: "She's a lovely person and she has children herself. It's great that somebody like that promotes breastfeeding."
Since adopting the Baby Friendly scheme, the Royal Oldham Hospital has seen breastfeeding initiation rates rise from 29% in 1999 to 68% in 2009.
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