Last updated at 20:52, Thursday, 05 November 2009

A YOUNG mum from Seaton is starring in a radical new campaign to promote breast-feeding.

Breast is best: two of the NHS Cumbria's 'Be A Star' campaign winners, Katy Burns, left, with seven-month-old Amiee and Vicky Thompson with 14-month-old Sian who will be helping to promote the benefits of breast-feeding

Katy Burns, 19, was chosen with Vicky Thompson, 25, of Carlisle, as poster girls for the ‘Be A Star’ campaign, which specifically targets younger mothers.

Trendy makeovers transformed the pair into celebrity mums for the photoshoot, which aims to give the issue of breast-feeding a new edge.

The images of Katy breastfeeding her baby will soon appear on billboards across West Cumbria.

The ‘Be A Star’ campaign has been launched by primary care trust NHS Cumbria to help tackle low breast-feeding rates, particularly among the under-25s.

Figures show that in some parts of the county, as few as 36 per cent of women breastfeed – and that number is significantly lower among younger mums.

Just 52.3 per cent of under-25s in Cumbria are breastfeeding, compared to 69 per cent of over-25s.

Yet evidence shows that babies that are breast-fed have the best possible start in life, protecting them from illness and reducing the mother’s chances of getting breast and ovarian cancer in later life.

Jane Muller, NHS Cumbria’s associate director of public health, said she believed it was a combination of embarrassment, inexperience, fear and family bottle-feeding trends that stopped women from taking it up.

She said that not only did breast milk contain all the nutrients every baby needed, it was also free.

She added: “The campaign is all about making sure that young women see breast-feeding as a completely normal choice for a mother.”

Katy was chosen as the breast-feeding star for West Cumbria and stars alongside seven-month-old daughter Amiee.

Her mum Isabel is an avid promoter of breast-feeding, supporting other new parents through any difficulties, so Katy decided from day one not to bottle feed.

She soon got the hang of it and is now keen to spread the word.

She said her persona in the pictures is based on celebrity WAG Alex Curran, wife of Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard.

First published at 19:32, Thursday, 05 November 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk