The Breastfeeding Network
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-10)

We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.

The Armed Forces Covenant

An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families

The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.

Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.

Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant

1.1 We The Breastfeeding Network will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment

2.1 The Breastfeeding Network recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
- UK Service Spouses And Partners
We also pledge the following:

We recognise the significant contribution of Service personnel, reservists, veterans, the cadet movement and military families. Throughout our work, we will ensure that Armed Forces personnel and their families experience fair treatment, support and respect. Engage and listen to services families and seek to understand their specific needs and concerns Consider how we can respond to specific challenges and priorities in infant feeding faced by services families, such as, but not limited to, pro-longed absences from families and sudden deployment Consider reasonable adjustments to how we would normally deliver services, taking account of service family needs e.g. reflecting on timing, location of services and where services families access their information Share information about training opportunities and consider barriers that might be faced by Armed forces personnel and families in accessing these Monitor and learn from our engagement and feedback from Armed forces families and their organisations, considering how we continuously improve their experience of our services The National Breastfeeding Helpline (NBH) serves families in the UK, wherever they are, 24/7. This is often a more accessible service for families who are wanting to access support at variable times and when other health services are not open. We will: Connect with relevant organisations including Help for Heroes helpline, Naval Families Federation, Army Families Federation and RAF Families Federation to improve referral pathways to our national services Brief national services staff and volunteer teams on the specific considerations for supporting Armed forces families Learn from contacts and feedback of Armed Forces families

2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.