Counselling Cards for Community Workers - Unicef PDF clic the link below

http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/files/counseling_cards_Oct._2012small.pdf
This set of Counselling Cards is part of The Community Infant and Young Child. Feeding (IYCF) Counselling Package, developed under a strategic collaboration.

I hope this can help

In what resouce-poor setting do women need to hide in a tent to breast feed? Isn't this an example of unintentionally introducing foreign cultural ideas into another culture?

I agree with Ted. In many cultures breastfeeding is, as it should be, a normal part of life and not something that is hidden away. Unfortunately in the US that it is more often the later and is something we are working hard to change. In any setting, including resource-poor settings, woman should breastfeed as is the cultural norm for them. In refugee or emergency situations, if women desire a place of privacy (or in some situations it may be necessary for safety) then one should be provided. But it should not be implied or suggested that this is the way "it is". I suggest not promoting a breastfeeding tent in your project, which has become a viable solution in the US for employers to provide a private space for working women to breastfeed or express milk. Use lovely pictures of breastfeeding moms and babes! Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

I too have looked for a tent picture - there aren't many around which is interesting, as having a place for breastfeeding women to go has been regarded as an important component of the response to support women in emergency situations.
It is not a matter of imposing social values; women are not forced to hide away to breastfeed, but it is protection offered when women with young children are particularly vulnerable and frightened, a helpful way to reduce stress levels and enable the flow of milk to improve so that breastfeeding can continue. Most women who breastfeed have found it helpful at times for both them and the baby to go somewhere quiet and private to relax and concentrate on feeding - even if at other times they are happy to breastfeed in more public situations. Let women have the option and decide for themselves.

Anita
I guess the leaflets you are preparing will require a tent that reflects the context in which you want to use them. If that does not matter, I can share with you pictures of breastfeeding tents, in Iraq we call them 'Baby Hut'. They are not really tents in the true sense of the word, but caravan cabinets/nice prefab structures/containers in IDP/refugee camps that not only provide private space for breastfeeding mothers but also offers ample counseling room for the mothers. Feel free to inbox me for pictures if you think they will serve your purpose.

Dear Anita,
We have featured articles in Field Exchange on experiences with baby tents that include images. For example:

Save the Children programming in Haiti: http://www.ennonline.net/fex/41/save
IOCC experiences in Lebanon: http://www.ennonline.net/fex/48/infant
ACF IYCF support in Lebanon: http://www.ennonline.net/fex/48/challenges
Save the Children in Jordan (here they used caravans rather than tents): http://www.ennonline.net/fex/48/managinginfant

If you need higher resolution versions of any of these images for your leaflet, then email me and I will send them to you.

It would be great if you could share the final leaflet you produce as others might find it very useful.

Thank you so much for the resources and links! They look really helpful. Marie-I notice some of the pictures appear to be copyrighted in the links you provided. Would we be ok to reproduce them provided we attribute them to the copyright holder?
Thanks also for the alternative perspective-perhaps the term 'breastfeeding tent' can be a little misleading and we need to make sure we put the message across clearly in our leaflet. We are planning to suggest giving women a private, safe space where they can go for breastfeeding support, but also support related to pregnancy and motherhood. The focus of our project is very much on normalising and promoting breastfeeding. We feel that giving women a private space with both professional and mother-to-mother support is important in achieving this, but we are not suggesting that this is the only space in which breastfeeding should happen.

Dear Anita,
As long as you credit the original source of the image, that is fine.

It may be possible in some contexts to 'share' these safe spaces, and link with others to facilitate them. For example, child protection or psycho-social support services may have similar plans and those supporting breastfeeding can join forces. Indeed some of the challenges that mothers are facing breastfeeding may come to light through contacts with child protection staff.

In some contexts, infants may not be breastfed and will need a different support service. To dissuade people from sending donations of infant formula, they also need to be reassured that provision is made for these infants for whom breastfeeding is not a feasible option (eg infants established on formula feeding pre-crisis). Some of these issues are flagged in an article in The Guardian newspaper a few years ago, see: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/may/30/comment.internationalaidanddevelopment

Warm regards
Marie

Good Day,
At Save the Children Jordan, our Infant and Young Child Feeding program provides safe places/sites for breastfeeding mothers in Syrian Refugee Camps as well as host communities.
Here is an picture of one of our caravans in Zaatari Refugee Camp.

link of a picture

I do share concerns with Ted and Kathie. Is breastfeeding tent a blanket prescription for all, from west to east and North to south? Do you think mothers feel shame because they are breastfeeding? or do you think the community mistreat them because they lactating in front of the them? if not, why we are forcing them to hide in a corner? are they not part of the community? from whom are we advising them to hide? from their other family members (husband, kids, grand parents) neighbors? I have a very limited chance to look some but are empty.

Dear Kiross, Ted and Kathie,
You raise very important points and highlight the importance of the need for context specific interventions around infant feeding, that includes breastfeeding. In a number of emergencies - from the Philippines to Haiti to Jordan, 'tents' or caravans or 'spaces' have been a place that have allowed mothers to come together and support each other, as well as access more specialist support if needed in areas like breastfeeding. In some contexts, there is an issue of a mother's desire for privacy to feed; the fact that she does not feel comfortable feeding more publicly is a societal failure but not one that may be addressed in the immediacy of a personal and community crisis. It is also about connecting and identifying with other mothers that can provide emotional and practical support. It certainly is not a 'one size fits all' approach and your postings have really helped to emphasise the importance of that.

From what everyone has said, the major problem, it strikes me, is not the presence of the tent but its name. Calling it a "breastfeeding tent" may have been an attempt somehow to promote breastfeeding, but that is misguided because it implies a tent is NEEDED for that purpose. Please ENN, start promoting the idea that such tents be called mother and child tents or something like that. Indeed, in emergency settings in low-income countries, it is the bottle feeding mothers that need to be hidden away!

Dear Ted,
Actually I have rarely seen them called 'breastfeeding tent'; this was just the term coined in the original question posed here. They are usually referred to as 'mother and baby tents' or 'IYCF friendly spaces' and the like, encompassing the range of support they might offer.

In some contexts, it is necessary to provide support to non-breastfed infants, who were established on formula feeding pre-crisis, such as Haiti or in Jordan. Such support will include, for example, targeted supply of infant formula, advice on hygienic preparation of feeds, and access to health services. Implementing agencies have been very mindful of the Code and the Operational Guidance on IFE in such programming. Artificial feeding may be manged purely at household level or in some cases, require the tent model for access to services and support, as happened in Haiti.

I've not heard the safe spaces for breastfeeding support referred to as breastfeeding tents before. "Baby tents" (whether they are in tents or schools or clinics etc) are a very long standing intervention- I believe they were first instituted during the Balkan's crisis of the 90s, correct me if I am wrong- and they have been used in all sorts of contexts including Macedonia, Indonesia, Haiti, the Philippines, New Zealand (just had a paper describing this experience published in Breastfeeding Review) and currently in Europe. They are a place where mothers can go to find safety, emotional support and assistance with breastfeeding. A “baby tent” is different from a normal hospital or clinic service in that the service focuses on well, rather than sick, infants. Certainly they also provide privacy- which is something that some mothers value and as such is a facilitator of breastfeeding- but this is not the central purpose of this intervention.

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