UNICEF launches mobile app to facilitate breastfeeding

UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) China on Thursday launched a mobile application to help its users find breastfeeding rooms in public places. It is now available free for download to iPhones and iPads.

The mobile application is part of the "10 Square Meters of Love" breastfeeding advocacy campaign launched by UNICEF and the National Center for Women and Children' s Health under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in June 2013.

The campaign aims to locate, register, certify and publicize breastfeeding rooms, both for employees during work hours and for patrons and customers in public buildings and stores.

According to UNICEF, a total of 276 "10 Square Meters of Love" breastfeeding rooms and spaces have been established in 52 cities in China.

About 217 of the rooms are open to the public and another 59 set up in companies and workplaces for employee use.

The app shows the physical location of all breastfeeding rooms registered in the campaign and allows users to locate the nearest breastfeeding room through their smartphones' GPS function.

"The mobile app not only makes it easier for the public to find registered breastfeeding rooms, it will gradually make breastfeeding - the best source of infant nutrition known to man - more visible and more supported by society," said Tim Sutton, Deputy Representative of UNICEF China.

In addition to showing the location of every registered "10 Square Meters of Love" breastfeeding space, the app allows users to give ratings to the breastfeeding rooms.

It also provides answers to frequently asked questions about breastfeeding as well as a directory of breastfeeding peer support groups and counselors.

The application's android operating system version will be released in November 2013.