Jennifer Galbraith, who gave birth in January, has created an online Baby Changing and Feeding Spaces map after she found she was “anxious” when she went out and didn’t know where there were facilities.
She said: “I’m a first-time parent so I noticed businesses and places don’t really advertise if they’ve got baby changing and going out was quite difficult because you never quite knew when you were going to change your baby and if there were places around to change your baby.”
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She continued: “I was personally quite anxious when I took my baby out not knowing where I could go.
“As a first-time parent there’s so many things to be anxious about and so many things you come across that you weren’t expecting or things aren’t what you thought they were going to be.
“So you didn’t think through the logistics of how things work because it’s impossible to know until they’re here.”
After speaking with other mums Jennifer, who lives in the West End, decided to create a map of places which have baby changing facilities which she first shared with her friends.
She explained: “I first created one to share round my friends and everyone found it really useful and I thought it would be great if we could expand this outside of our bubble and get other parents and caregivers on board to make it more accessible.
“In the haze of the new born days I would not have had the energy to do this but it was after the first few months it started to really annoy me because I realised having a young baby can be quite isolating and it’s hard getting out and not knowing where you can meet friends or family.
“I just wanted to try and alleviate that a bit, firstly for my friends and then sharing it wider.”
Jennifer, 30, says the map has been really well received and is hoping it will be used UK-wide and she would like to see business advertising their services via the map.
She is also encouraging other parents and caregivers to add to the map so everyone can share their knowledge.
The process is straightforward and only asks if the space is unisex or not, acknowledging that both men and women need to change babies and toddlers.
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She said: “People have loved it and found it really helpful.
“I’ve been getting submissions for places through the website and I go in and add it myself so there’s been quite a bit added since I first launched it.
“I’m currently approaching charities and organisations that work with babies and children to try and get it out a bit further and try and spread the word more.”
She added: “I think having that in one place help them take away one anxiety that parents and caregivers can have.
“I know I’ve used it a lot when I’ve been out and there’s places on it that I’ve been really surprised have had baby changing so it’s been nice knowing I can go to some of the places I used to go and I would never have thought in a million years they would have baby changing.
“So, it’s nice to get that slice of normality.”
You can view or add to the Baby Changing and Feeding Spaces map at babychangingspaces.co.uk.
