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Food giant, McDonald’s, is today being awarded the Booby Prize,

 for being the least friendly place in Britain to breastfeed. Mums nominated McDonald’s to receive the Booby Prize after many were told by its staff to stop breastfeeding or to use a toilet cubicle when feeding their baby in the restaurants.

The first ever UK-wide Booby Prize (sponsored by UNISON) was launched this summer by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) to award companies or organisations for their ‘appalling’ or ‘outstanding’ treatment of breastfeeding mothers. Members of the public were invited to nominate whomever they liked, attracting hundreds of entries from across the UK - though hardly any from Scotland where a law protecting a woman’s right to breastfeed in public has recently been introduced.

Comedienne and 2006 NCT Booby Prize ambassador, Jo Brand, said, “It’s ironic that McDonald’s has been awarded the booby prize - breastmilk is as ‘fast-food’ as it gets!”

Other big brand companies who received both positive and negative nominations include Asda, Tesco, Mothercare and Boots. The NCT is now calling on these family-orientated companies to review their breastfeeding policies, to ensure mums can feed their baby wherever and whenever they need to in comfort and confidence.

The Booby Award for outstanding services for breastfeeding mums goes to Scandinavian furniture store Ikea, which was the clear winner after receiving plaudits from mums for its breastfeeding-friendly café designs. All in-store cafés provide a special area where mums can choose to feed, equipped with a comfy chair, privacy partition and play area; in addition breastfeeding is welcome throughout the store and nominating mums praised the warm welcome they received from staff when feeding. Other organisations highly commended include Starbucks, Bluewater shopping centre, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, Pizza Express and John Lewis.

The NCT’s Booby Prize initiative is part of a wider campaign for the introduction of a breastfeeding law, similar to that in Scotland, throughout the rest of the UK, and to encourage more companies and organisations to provide a welcoming environment for breastfeeding mums.

Rosie Dodds, Policy Research Officer at the NCT said, “Apparently McDonald’s and most other large companies do have positive breastfeeding policies but what is important is for these policies to be implemented on the ground. 62% of mums who nominated think that the reason why breastfeeding in public is still an issue in the 21st century is lack of education within society, together with a lack of roles models (both public and family.) (Questionnaire completed by all 211 members of public who nominated organisations for the NCT Booby Prize, NCT August 2006.)

“We want all employers to provide their staff with information about their breastfeeding policies and full training on how to make breastfeeding mums feel comfortable. We applaud the work Ikea has done to welcome breastfeeding mums and hope this progressive attitude is an example other organisations will now follow.”

Sharon Greene, UNISON’s National Women’s Officer said, “Breastfeeding in public is a workplace issue like any other and all mothers deserve respect and dignity at work. 71% of mums do generally feel comfortable breastfeeding when out and about, or are okay with it if everyone else is (questionnaire completed by all 211 members of public who nominated organisations for the NCT Booby Prize, NCT August 2006 ), but we hope the NCT’s Booby Prize will encourage more support for UK-wide legislation to protect all breastfeeding women both in public and in the workplace.”

A number of nominations were also received for public transport companies, including an incident in Norwich where a breastfeeding mum was asked to get off the bus by the bus driver.

For further information about the Booby Prize, or to set up interviews with breastfeeding mums or spokespeople from the NCT, please contact Anna Gardner or Emily Shelton in the NCT Press Office on 0870 770 3238 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . (Out of hours, please call 07722 839428.)

Notes to Editors
  • The Booby Prize (www.boobyprize.nct.org.uk) was launched by the NCT on 7th July and nominations closed on 19th August 2006. A judging panel selected winners for the Booby Prize and the outstanding Booby Award based on nominations and specific comments from mums.
  • Of the 211 people who provided nominations for the Booby Prize, 150 (71%) were non-NCT members.
  • 79% of mums would like a law throughout the rest of UK to protect a woman’s right to breastfeed in public places. Nearly a third (29%) of mums in Scotland said they feel more comfortable breastfeeding out and about since the introduction of a breastfeeding law in Scotland in 2005.
  • ‘Breastfeeding Welcome’ window stickers are available from www.nctsales.co.uk.
  • Run by parents for parents, the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) is the largest and best-known childbirth and parent charity in Europe. It is the voice of parents on antenatal, birth and postnatal issues, and provides a range of quality educational and support services for parents at local level. Established 50 years ago, the NCT has successfully campaigned for improved care during pregnancy and childbirth and promotes the principle of informed choice for women and their partners.
  • NCT provides a range of services for any new parents including antenatal classes, postnatal discussion groups, breastfeeding counselling and a network of over 400 local branches for new parents. For further information, please call the NCT enquiries line on 0870 444 8707, 9-5 Monday-Thursday and 9-4 on Fridays or visit the NCT website at www.nct.org.uk.
  • The NCT is a registered charity (reg. no. 801395), and a membership organisation with over 68,000 members across the UK. All services are available to members and non-members alike. The NCT encourages parents to become members, as it is the membership fee that funds services. To join or renew NCT membership, visit www.nct.org.uk/join.
  • NCT Breastfeeding counsellors are available to answer questions and provide support around baby feeding. For further information call the NCT Breastfeeding Line on 0870 444 8708 any day between 8am and 10pm.