Art exhibition 'Breastfeeding Through the First 2000 Days' launches at Maitland Hospital

The inaugural Maitland Hospital Arts in Health exhibition Breastfeeding Through the First 2000 days is at Maitland Hospital from today until February, when it will move on to Tamworth Hospital.

The exhibition is a collection of 48 images of women breastfeeding from all over the Hunter New England Health district.

It's the brain-child of clinical midwife consultant, maternity services Alison Beverly who is the creative director of the project, and arts for health coordinator and exhibition curator Kiasmin Burrell.

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Ms Beverly said she created the exhibition to promote breastfeeding within the community and celebrate the journey of the mums pictured.

"It's so important to share those stories and not just the images, but the words," she said.

"It's to encourage mums to breastfeed or to keep breastfeeding and to challenge people's thoughts on breastfeeding.

"Breastfeeding is a very natural and very important nutritional benefit for the two years and beyond."

Ms Burrell said they specifically placed it in the hospital where mothers will be, where families who are waiting to go into the birthing suite or mothers in labour who are walking the halls will see them, and hopefully feel encouraged and part of a community.

"We're hoping those stories will encourage those mums too," she said.

"We wanted it to be a celebration."

Ms Burrell said she chose colour grading on the images that would bring them to life and draw people in to read the stories.

There are images to represent all kinds of breastfeeding, from feeding premature twins to sleepy midnight feeds at home.

Nurse unit manager and acting nurse manager, women and children Morgan Brown said as a mother herself the exhibition feels reaffirming and emotional.

"It's reaffirming to my own experiences and the challenges that I felt, even as a health professional," she said.

"Seeing the pictures and the stories, you feel like part of a community."