A YOUNG mum is today at the centre of a row over a campaign to promote breastfeeding.

Shanelle Claridge, who has facial piercings, modelled for the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) with her six-month-old daughter Mishka as part of a drive to target young mothers.

Their picture is being used on posters and promotional material that is being distributed around antenatal clinics and surgeries in the UK.

The NCT hopes the campaign will help to show new mothers that they can be at ease when breastfeeding when out and about. The advertising also uses mobile phone text words to appeal to the younger generation.

Shanelle, 22, who lives with her partner Ben Ives, 27, in Dorchester Road, Weymouth, modelled for free and says she is pleased to support the initiative.

But some of the NCT's own members have accused the charity of dumbing-down its campaign.

Julie Kirkbride, Conservative MP for Bromsgrove, said she feared the campaign went too far.

She said: "The NCT is trying too hard to be trendy.

"I don't think working class women should be stereotyped in this way. A great deal of them will be put off by this image."

Shanelle, who is a member of the Weymouth and Dorchester NCT branch, said: "I was very surprised to hear that some people were upset.

"I'm aware that I don't look like a plain Jane, but I'm very happy with the way I look - it's part of who I am."

She added: "Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world and I think more young mothers should be doing it. I realise that not everyone feels comfortable about it but I was glad to be part of the campaign to encourage other new mums to give it a try."

The NCT has launched the initiative during National Breastfeeding Awareness Week. Shanelle and others will be running a stall at Dorset County Hospital's antenatal clinic tomorrow and Friday offering advice.

Lee Zimmer, of the NCT, said: "Some of our branch members were a little shocked about our new campaign because our previous campaigns have been a little more Conservative in the images they used.

"We purposely chose Shanelle because we wanted to target a younger age group. We know that the groups least likely to breastfeed are those under 25.

"It was a radical move on our part and I think people understood where we were coming from once they heard about who we were trying to target."

The NCT Breastfeeding line can be contacted on 0870 444 8708.