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Baby Friendly Spaces

Regina Early Years Family Resource Centre - infant, baby, toddler, preschooler, play, programming, development, free

What Are Baby Friendly Spaces?

Baby-friendly spaces are public places that allow families to immediately respond to their children‘s hunger cues by comfortably and safely feeding in the way that works for them. Baby-Friendly Spaces Regina strives to normalize feeding infants and children in public to achieve better holistic health and quality of life for families and communities.

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Why Does Our Community Need Baby Friendly Spaces?

To increase community belonging, it’s crucial to support families feeding their children in public. Negative reactions and stigma can make parents uncomfortable, affecting their ability to respond to their child’s hunger promptly. This can lead to emotional and physical strain, feelings of isolation, and pressure to change their feeding method. Empowering families to feed their children as needed increases their sense of belonging, safety, and reduces fear. Programs like Baby-Friendly Spaces improve parent and child quality of life, mental well-being, health, relationships, and breastfeeding success.

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To Honour the Rights of Parents and Children

The Federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canada Human Rights Commission, and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission all recognize that feeding a child and breast/chestfeeding are human rights. It is discriminatory to prevent a parent/caregiver from feeding a child. It is not acceptable to ask them to cover up either – some babies do not like to eat while being covered up. Infants and children have a right to eat.

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To Promote Healthy Habits

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are many benefits of responding to infant and child hunger cues such as:

  • The development of healthy food preferences

  • Prevention of undernutrition

  • Improved psycho-emotional and cognitive development

  • Many opportunities for attachment and bonding

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To Help Protect Our Environment
Allowing families to breast/chestfeed in public contributes to a better environment as it requires no production, packaging or waste disposal to do so.

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To Improve Business

Establishments that provide a baby-friendly space for families to comfortably feed their children have been shown to experience the following benefits:

  • Improved customer service

  • Attracting a new customer base

  • Longer customer stays

  • Increased publicity

Baby-friendly spaces are everyone’s business.

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Our Invitation to You

We invite you to join our goal of supporting families to feed any way and anywhere for the health of our children and their parents. Supporting them is also one way you can help increase food security in our community. All businesses, organizations and public places are welcome to participate!

Want to join in? It is easy to make your place baby-friendly and we can help! Start by welcoming families to feed their children anytime, anywhere, and in any way they choose to in your establishment. If space allows, you can also create a clean and comfortable space for families to use if they wish for a quieter, more private place to feed their child.

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Here are some resources to help you get started:

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Once you have created your baby-friendly space, you may wish to email us to request a decal to display in your establishment to show your support to your clients.

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Looking for ideas? Here are some Baby-Friendly Spaces champions in our community!

Are You Already a Baby Friendly Space?

If you can answer ‘yes’ to all of these questions, congratulations, you are a Baby Friendly Space!

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  • Your staff support and understand the importance of feeding any way and anywhere and do not ask breastfeeding caregivers to cover up or use designated spaces if they do not wish to do so.

  • Your staff understand the importance of welcoming families and helping to make them comfortable to feed their infants and children at your establishment. They can appropriately address concerned patrons who are uncomfortable with families feeding in public or inappropriate comments regarding breastfeeding.

  • If possible, a clean, quiet and comfortable space (that is not a washroom) is available for any family to feed their infant or child or to express milk, as requested.

  • The universal breastfeeding symbol is posted in a highly visible place at your establishment. Decals can be requested at babyfriendlyspaces@saskhealthauthority.ca

  • Any of your staff returning from parental leave are supported to continue providing human milk to their child if they wish to do so.

Baby Friendly Spaces Regina exists through partnerships between Regina communities, businesses, community-based organizations, and the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Baby Friendly Spaces initiatives aim to support all families to be able to respond to their children’s hunger cues comfortably while in public. Also, through this program, participating businesses and organizations let families know that they support families feeding their children any way, anytime and anywhere.

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For more information, contact us at: babyfriendlyspaces@saskhealthauthority.ca​

The Regina Early Years Family Resource Centres acknowledge we are on the traditional lands of the Treaty 4 Territory, the original lands of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, Lakota, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. The Regina Early Years Family Resource Centres are committed to working together with Indigenous peoples as we take important steps forward on the pathway of collaboration, reconciliation, and change.

© 2025 REYFRC

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