Breastfeeding mermaid mural makes waves in Scottish community

A breastfeeding mural has recently been completed in the Scottish town of Greenock. Artist Sam Bates aka Smug was commissioned to do the mural with the aim to spark conversation and normalise breastfeeding in the community.

The mural is featured on Nicolson Street, Greenock, and depicts a breastfeeding mermaid and her baby. The community project was a collaborative effort, driven by Invercylde’s HSCP’s Infant Feeding, the breastfeeding programme for government, and Oak Tree Housing Association.

According to Breastfeeding Friendly Inverclyde on Facebook, the idea for the project started with their own Infant Feeding Coordinator. The models for the image were Mother Angela and baby Evie.

Praise on social media

The new mural has certainly got people talking, with lots of people praising the beauty of the art and the motivation behind it on social media. On Twitter, Gillian Bowker wrote: “Lovely to see breastfeeding normalised in my local community.” Meanwhile the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (ABM) said the mural would be “a talking point for years to come.”

Real-life inspiration

Breastfeeding Mother Jennifer Batchelor lives close to where the mural was painted and she loves the final result. She said: “I was absolutely amazed to see this beautiful mural appear on the side of a building very close to where I live in Greenock. I have never felt that the community I live in is particularly breastfeeding-friendly so to see such a beautiful image of a mother feeding her child is so incredible. I hope it will inspire more mum’s in Scotland to breastfeed and encourage them to feed longer-term like me. I’m still tandem feeding two toddlers aged 1.5 and 3.5”

“I was absolutely amazed to see this beautiful mural appear on the side of a building very close to where I live in Greenock. I hope it will inspire more mum’s in Scotland to breastfeed.”