New infant feeding and changing benches have been unveiled in Drogheda, Co Louth.
The benches have been designed specifically to accommodate parents of infants.
They include armrests for comfort and support, with a changing table also attached to each bench.
They are located in St Dominic's Park in Drogheda and on the grounds of Louth County Hospital in Dundalk.
The community project, which coincides with international week of the midwife, was led by Gráinne Milne, Director of Midwifery at Louth Hospitals.
Ms Milne said that she was inspired by a photo she saw on social media from another country.
She said that the goal behind the project was to make feeding "more accessible, more public, more normal", but also service the need for parents to change their babies while out and about.
She said parents had told stories of having to change nappies on the grass or in the boot of the car, so this is a solution to that problem.
Drogheda Mens' Sheds got involved in the project late last summer and set to work designing and building the benches.
Imelda McKenna, a clinical midwife specialist in infant feeding and a lactation consultant, said that the benches could mean a return of community support of mothers.
"It's a lovely meeting place for mums. Peer support for breast feeding is very important for mothers. There was no community support for the last few years with Covid, so this is a lovely way to get people back out into the community," she said.
Gráinne Milne said that this project was the first of its kind in Ireland, and that she would love to see more of these accessible benches in parks and towns around the county and the country.
