Yesterday, it emerged that Aontú leader, Peadar Tóibín had made critical comments of local charity, Cuidiú which provides antenatal education through parent-to-parent support.
His criticism was directed towards the charity’s monthly breastfeeding group meetings aimed at ‘pregnant parents nursing newborns, older children, assistance with combination feeding, or anyone providing milk.’
The language used when describing and advertising the monthly meetings referred to ‘breastfeeding/chestfeeding.’
Reflecting on the wording used, he said that ‘chestfeeding isn’t a thing’ and that ‘only women can breastfeed.’
The Aontú leader called for an end to what he called ‘the eradication of female-specific language’ in which he says is ‘in the very confused name of inclusion and equality.’
WLR had requested a statement from the charity in response to comments made by the Aontú leader.
The Statement from Cuidiú
“In the light of the very public print and social media debates following the ALCI Conference speaker announcement, Cuidiú wishes to re-iterate our mission statement and guiding principles:
“Cuidiú is Irish for ‘help’. With our 25+ Branches throughout Ireland, 300+ trained volunteers and a further 100+ supporting volunteers, we are proud to have been supporting tens of thousands of parents annually throughout the country for the past 40 years. This is offered via the provision of Antenatal Education, Breastfeeding Support, Parent Support and socially at our Branch and National meets and events.”
The most recent Annual audit of Breastfeeding Counsellor activity revealed that 28,000 individuals were helped and supported through our network of events and online meet ups. If we add to that the number of families supported through our Antenatal teaching programmes and the work of our Parent Support teams that number is significantly higher.
Cuidiú provides a valuable link in the communities they serve between the HSE staff such as PHNs and Community based PHN Lactation Consultants/Infant Feeding Specialists.
Our motto is education and support for parenthood.
Our ethos centres on supporting parents, wherever they are at, using evidence based information about pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding in order to provide a supportive background to empower parents to make their own decisions that are right for their family.
This Informed Decision Making is at the core of our Breastfeeding and Parent Support models and is what makes our Cuidiú Antenatal Ireland classes different from others.
The use of inclusive language has been encouraged so that no parent feels excluded from the support network provided by Cuidiú. We follow the HSEs guiding principles on respectful and inclusive Language:
Key Principles of HSE Inclusive Language
· Plain English: Use simple, natural words and avoid medical jargon so everyone can understand health advice.
· Gender-Neutral Terms: Replace gender-specific job titles with neutral alternatives, such as using “chairperson” instead of “chairman”.
· Disability and Neurodiversity: Favour person-first language (like “a person with a disability”) while respecting individual preferences, and avoid negative phrases like “suffers from”.
· Respectful Tone: Keep communication kind, factual, and free of stereotypes across all digital and printed materials.
Cuidiú does not propose to engage in any further public debate other than to reiterate our thanks to the in excess of 300 volunteers across our network who engage daily in the support of parents and their children.”
