In October 2007, Best Beginnings launched a poster competition for students at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art and Design. The overall winners won a two-week work placement at leading advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.

In parallel, Best Beginnings ran a postcard competition inviting D&AD students from around the world.

All students were invited to create images to celebrate breastfeeding.

The entries from both competitions formed the "Get Britain Breastfeeding" which launched in London's East End in May 2008. 

Best Beginnings created the exhibition in collaboration with Dr Wynn-Jones, Healthy Schools Tower Hamlets and NHS London, who backed it financially. A special thank you goes to Trish Morris-Thompson, Chief Nurse NHS London and Francesca Entwistle, Regional Infant Feeding Co-ordinator, Department of Health London.

At its heart, the Get Britain Breastfeeding art exhibition was designed to inspire, celebrate, challenge and change public perceptions surrounding breastfeeding, so that the UK becomes a society where women are supported to breastfeed for as long as they choose. 

The judging panel which included "leading lights" from the advertising world and infant feeding leads chose Kayleigh Brooks and Sophie Barker as the winners of the competition. Their challenging poster campaign was in 2009 and 2010 distributed free to hospitals, community centres and GP practices across England via the Department of Health 

Many of the images submitted as part of this exhibition were very challenging and all images have since been decommissioned. 

If you see any posters up anywhere across the NHS please invite the manager of the NHS site to remove them or contact Best Beginnings engagement team and we will happily do this.

Please email: [email protected]