Woman launches ‘breastfeeding T-shirts’ with secret zips for self-conscious mothers

Richard Branson is funding the project

Breastfeeding in public can be a daunting experience for some mothers, with incidents of being shamed by disapproving onlookers rife in places such as airports and theme parks.

Subsequently, this can make some women feel self-conscious when it comes to feeding their children in public spaces, which is why one mother from Northern Ireland has invented breastfeeding T-shirts, which come complete with hidden zips designed to make it easier for mothers to pull their tops to the side so they can feed their infants.

Created by Lauren Hampshire, The Milky Tee Company aims to tackle the unease some mothers feel when trying to breastfeed in public by making it easier to be discreet - and the concept has won support from Richard Branson.

Hampshire’s innovative range of T-shirts - which start at £26.99 - recently won the British entrepreneur’s Virgin Business Voom Awards and the mother-of-two hopes that her products will appeal to new mothers who want to breastfeed in public without exposing themselves.

“I came up with the idea two years ago after I had my second daughter and really struggled to find anything to breastfeed in”, she explains in her pitch.

“I was really shocked that in 2016 there was so little that existed to help mums breastfeed.

“It looks like a normal T-shirt so you can wear it even after you’ve finished breastfeeding."

After launching in February this year, Hampshire has already sold more than 500 T-shirts worldwide and hopes that the backing she’ll receive from the award will enable her to expand her business even further with the introduction of breastfeeding jumpers.

"The zips are placed just below the armpit so mums can pull them down, move the tee across slightly, and breastfeed without having to expose their chest or tummy," Hampshire's Voom pitch reads.

"Also, as the zips are hidden, The Milky Tee looks like a normal T-shirt and can be worn even after a woman finishes breastfeeding."

Despite possibly opening herself up to criticisms that the range exacerbates the taboo that suggests breastfeeding should be kept hidden and secret, Hampshire insists her product is about providing mothers with an easier and more fashion-conscious option when it comes to feeding their child and is something she found herself craving as a new mother.

"Both of my children were what I would describe as grazers as they liked to feed little and often," she write on her website.

"I sometimes felt like a human milking machine who was constantly feeding. I really struggled to find clothes I could wear while I was breastfeeding which weren’t either a faff to use, having to lift up or pull down different layers, or which looked quite frumpy and ‘mumsy'," hence The Milky Tee was born.

"I hope it will help lots of breastfeeding mums out there," she concludes.