Thirty years ago, my mum returned to work while she was still breastfeeding me.

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Without the time, facilities or support she needed, she felt forced to wean me before either of us was ready.

Three decades later, she still talks about the distress it caused her.

Fifteen years into my own career, I thought things must have changed. But after becoming a mother - and hearing the experiences of women across the UK - I realised that too many mothers are still being pushed towards the same impossible choice: continue breastfeeding, or participate in working life.

Women have told me about expressing milk in toilets, cupboards, cars and open-plan offices; one mother told me that she looked up to see a hazard sign above her head in the place she was forced to express milk. Others return to work earlier than they wanted because they could not afford to remain on maternity leave, only to find continuing to breastfeed practically impossible.

Many felt they had no option but to stop.

This is why I launched........

© LBC