An Australian mom hopes to eliminate the stigma surrounding breastfeeding with a doll aimed at children, the Huffington Post reported.
Betty Strachan, a Brisbane-based mother of two sons, creates custom dolls that she sells on Etsy. She told the Post that she was inspired by other mothers to create a breastfeeding doll. “The decision to make a breastfeeding doll didn’t come consciously,” Strachan told the Post. “I’m a member of a mothers’ group that’s comprised of very lovely and supportive women. I remember one day, I was drawing the new face on a Barbie doll, and she just seemed to be the embodiment of the entire group.”
She said that after the group gave her positive feedback on the doll, she began selling it on her Etsy shop. According to the Post, the dolls sold quickly — mostly to other mothers with children. Strachan hopes that the doll can normalize breastfeeding and serve as a tool for parents to educate their children.
“I realized that it was really something that should be available ― because, like most things that society deems unacceptable, educating children is the way to erase the stigma behind it,” Strachan said.
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Write to Samantha Cooney at samantha.cooney@time.com