'Brelfies' shared to celebrate breastfeeding at exhibition

Hundreds of women have shared their own "brelfies", or breastfeeding selfies, for an art exhibition.

The "brelfies" feature in the exhibition, which aims to celebrate breastfeeding, at De Montfort University in Leicester.

Midwifery student Rebecca Telling organised the display after being inspired by an image of a woman breastfeeding on a magazine cover.

The showcase also include contributions from students and worldwide artists.

Ms Telling, 21, who is in her third year, said during her research she discovered a whole movement for breastfeeding art.

"I didn't know it was a thing but there were a lot of photos and paintings out there," she said.

"And as more and more of this art appears, it gets out into the world.

"Just within the last couple of months, there are more people talking about it."

Ms Telling said she hopes the exhibition helps more people to talk openly about breastfeeding.

"We wanted breastfeeding to be celebrated in lots of different ways," Ms Telling added.

"I would love to see the stuff we have done go beyond the exhibit and inspire people.

"I hope it will make Leicester more breastfeeding-friendly and aware, and I would love to see people that haven't necessarily been involved in breastfeeding being inspired by it, and realise that actually it does affect all of us far beyond mum and baby."

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].