­All Upper Street cafes and restaurant surveyed support public feeding

Breastfeeding has got the thumbs up in Islington as 100 per cent of cafes and restaurants supported it in a new survey.

The research, conducted by Westminster University, asked nine eating establishments in Upper Street if they allowed open breastfeeding – and every single one said yes.

Of those interviewed, all said they would deal with a customer complaint separately and be delicate towards an difficult situation.

Four of them also said that they would consider being actively involved in breastfeeding campaigns.

Silan Kurulta, manager of the Blue Legume, which features Breastfeeding Welcome stickers in the window, said: “Mothers love it here. Breastfeeding is something natural, and babies need to eat too.”

Avi Gokhan Levi, from Pascha, said: “Mothers need to feel as comfortable here as they do in their homes. They are the priority, breastfeeding is a sacred thing.”

Ellie Campbell, an Islington mother of a six-month-old son, said: “I was worried before I gave birth that I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere to feed, but it’s been a huge relief knowing a lot of places around Upper Street are so friendly to mothers.”

Hannah Shelley, who conducted the research for the university said that while breast-feeding in public was protected under the law, it was not uncommon for a woman to be asked to cover up or feed privately in restaurants or cafés.

She said: “The research was conducted for a project in which we were asked to carry out research into a prevalent media topic.

“With the recent controversy surrounding breastfeeding at the moment, I decided to research the topic from a more local perspective and decided to focus on Islington.”

Breastfeeding hit the headlines last month when a picture of a Liverpool mother feeding her son in the bath was flagged by Facebook.

The company said it may have contravened its nudity policy but agreed it had not once reviewed. This was despite the picture being posted in a closed group for mothers.