A SOUTH BENFLEET cafe has been recognised as national leader in supporting breastfeeding mums.

Peggy’s Cafe in Church Road has been nominated by mums for a Feed with Confidence Award, which celebrates people and places working to make breastfeeding an accessible option at a time when women can still face social stigma for feeding their children.

There is currently a national push to encourage women to breastfeed publicly.

This is after it emerged that the UK had some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world – with just 43.7 per cent of mothers breastfeeding six to eight weeks after giving birth.

Cafe owner and mother of three young children, Victoria Hazell, 35, was delighted to hear of the shock nomination, after specifically creating her business, with families in mind.

She said: “The nomination came as a complete surprise and I am absolutely thrilled that all the hard work the team have put in to making families feel welcome in the cafe., as they juggle their own lives.

“When I was planning the business, I modelled it around things I personally would like to see in a cafe to make me feel welcome as a mother of young children.

“We attract a really wide range of customers, from families whose children use the play area, to builders from the nearby trading estate.

“Breastfeeding is such a natural process.

“And it’s important to me that people get used to seeing it in public.

“I’m proud of the small part we are playing in making that more of a reality.”

Breastfeeding product brand Lasinoh, who are running the competition, will announce the competition winner in January 2019.