THE winner of the North’s Breastfeeding Champion 2026 is a woman from Donegal.
Adele Paton of Cherish Sure Start is from Letterkenny.
She was presented with her award by Stormont Health Minister Mike Nesbitt at the recently More than Milk exhibition event.
In 2013, Adele founded the “Breastfeeding in Northern Ireland” Facebook group.
The group offers 24/7 peer support with skilled breastfeeding counsellors and IBCLC’s volunteering as admin to maintain the quality of support and evidence-based advice.
The group now has 16,000 members.
(L-R) Maeve Linton, (Manager Cherish Surestart), Adele Paton, Breastival Breastfeeding Champion 2026, and Annemarie Keenan (Family support, Team Lead) at the More than Milk Exhbition in the Long Gallery Stormont.
Alongside her work in Surestart supporting families, Adele also volunteers as a Breastfeeding councillor with La Leche League International and is a peer support mum with WHSCT.
Speaking after she received her award on 21 July, Adele said: “Cherish Sure Start supports families from pregnancy until their youngest child turns four, across five bases.
“The thing I love about it is I’m able to support families from pregnancy, building relationships then I’m there to support them on the phone or online or in our groups, in their own home as well.
“It’s a lovely sort of continuity of care, which is a really nice way to work.
“Winning this Breastfeeding Champion award means so much to me because when my first child was born 22 years ago, I didn’t know anybody who was breastfeeding.
“There were no breastfeeding groups within an hour of my house, so I decided then that there must be people out there, somebody must be out there breastfeeding.
“I thought it would be lovely to get us together, and since that, I’ve spent my time trying to do that, to bring people together and share experiences and support each other.
“Bringing people together online, to support and share experiences and helping parents and families feel like there’s always someone else out there who’s in the same boat as me.”
Cherish Sure Start offers a variety of free programmes and services for parents and families supporting you before and after your baby’s arrival.