Our mission statement:

La Leche League Collective works across Great Britain to support, encourage, educate and advocate for a better understanding of human milk and the relationship breastfeeding/chestfeeding develops between babies, children and their families.

Our network:

We are a member of LLL’s European Area Network. As a member, we actively engage in knowledge sharing and collaboration throughout Europe, keeping LLL Leaders in Collective up-to-date on policies, best practice and training

Our registration:

La Leche League Collective is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, SC053899, regulated by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

We are actively growing our network of free in-person support meetings, which are currently hosted in Glasgow and Edinburgh for breastfeeding at all stages, including toddler support which is often outwith other services. In Glasgow, we collaborate with the Glasgow Science Centre. LLL Leaders (volunteer breastfeeding counsellors) host regular online peer support meetings which are open to all. They also facilitate online spaces for support between meetings. Free antenatal classes preparing parents for breastfeeding are part of our ongoing offer. These sessions often include second-time parents.

This is our flagship training and awareness programme focussing on a wide range of topics and lived experience.  Aimed at parents, breastfeeding supporters, health care professionals and policy makers the series elevates the voices and stories around topics that influence successful infant feeding journeys.

Featured speakers from Scotland have included a Scottish mother talking about breastfeeding and social class barriers and a Tayside project describing midwifery care for people facing separation from their baby through local authority processes. The series includes other topics such as infant sleep, young mums and gypsies and travellers in Wales. See our full list of speakers!

Seeing is believing and as part of this project we found that even in 2026 parents still need stories and images of people who look and sound like them breastfeeding. Representation really matters. With funding from the Corra Foundation and Creative Scotland, we partnered with Hayley Fraser Photography to capture images and stories of breastfeeding representation across Scotland. Hear their stories in their own words and read more about the photo exhibition and the collaborative project.

We undertook a three-city book tour in Scotland, hosting expert speakers in panel discussions.  As part of this 164 copies of the LLL Art of Breastfeeding book were distributed to library systems in Scotland giving 95% coverage using funding from the Scottish Government.

A core part of our mission is to reduce barriers for accessing support.  All our breastfeeding support is offered at no cost to families. In addition, we offer free training to become an internationally-accredited breastfeeding counsellor. Studies show that having access to peer support increases exclusive breastfeeding rates by 58%, yet in the most recent infant feeding statistics for England only 3% of families are accessing peer support. Scottish infant feeding statistics do not currently ask this question, but we can assume the number will be fairly similar. 

LLL Collective sees the need to increase the provision of breastfeeding peer support in Scotland. Our dream: one day all families in Scotland can say they have peer support easily accessible to them, wherever they live. We are undertaking a pilot project in Edinburgh, supported by both Awards for All Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh, to offer hybrid training sessions to more than double our footprint in Scotland.

Inclusion

We aim to include everyone seeking support for breastfeeding, chestfeeding and human-milk feeding. We want everyone who interacts with us – parents and families, partnering organisations and our volunteers – to feel included by our support and practice, and also to feel comfortable challenging us when we can do better. We aim to create non-judgemental spaces that are safe, inviting, welcoming, respectful and empathetic. 

Equity

We believe every family deserves equitable access to breastfeeding, chestfeeding and human-milk feeding support. Striving for equity is our driving force. We aim to address individual needs, barriers to accessing support and systemic inequalities for our volunteers and those who come for support. We include restorative justice in our work. We recognise that we won’t have all the answers, so our work is a journey backed by curiosity and motivated improvement.

Connection

We believe in the fundamental power of human connection: between parents and children, families and communities, and between breastfeeding advocates. Strong bonds are vital and through them we are able to achieve our charitable objectives and create an enriching place to volunteer. We celebrate our differences and through that create connections, in our support and with each other.

Empowerment

We empower the families who come to us to achieve their infant feeding goals, whether they provide human milk to their babies for one day or one thousand days. By providing evidenced-based information and support, we enable those who come to us to trust their instincts, knowledge and experience. We advocate for systems that better and more equitably support breastfeeding in Great Britain, and empower our volunteers to develop existing and new skills.

Continuous Improvement

We recognise that we will always have more to learn. Whether from new discoveries about breastfeeding or new practices for supporting parents and babies, we know that when we stay curious and keep an open mind we can provide better volunteer infant feeding support. We aim to continuously improve our own knowledge, internal systems and how we work together as volunteers and with partner organisations.

Cover photo, and eight photos just above courtsey of Hayley Fraser Photography. Read about our project together.