A big attempt will be made this Friday to break the world record for the largest number of mothers to breastfeed simultaneously.

The Big Latch On event at the Wesley Community Church at 100 13th Avenue on Friday is part of a nationwide initative attempting to break the record of 1571 mothers set last year.

An attempt will be made to break the record for the most women to breastfeed simultaneously this Friday.

Organiser of the Tauranga event, mother-of-four Joanna Pearson, is expecting 30-40 women will take part in Friday's event.

Joanna manages La Leche League, a breastfeeding support service in Tauranga, and says events like this are important in raising awareness of breastfeeding and continuing to increase national support and acceptance of breastfeeding.

'This is our way of supporting Women's Health Action, which runs the event each year. We like to support other organisations aiming to increase breastfeeding in New Zealand.”

Toi Te Ora Public Health Service is supporting Big Latch On events throughout Bay of Plenty, happening at Whisk Café in Waihi and Memorial Park Community Hall in Opotiki.

Whakatane mothers wanting to join the event can come along to Allandale School on Alexandra Ave at 9.30am on Friday 2nd August.

Last year a number of Latch Ons were registered around the area with about 15 people attending Joanna's event at Grindz Café.

With just the one event in Tauranga Joanna is expecting larger numbers at the Wesley Church starting 10am.

Toi Te Ora recommends that mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months and then continue to breastfeed along with the introduction of solid foods.

This year the World Breastfeeding Week theme is peer support, which recognises that successful breastfeeding requires support from family, friends and the community. Research shows that appropriate community, peer support and family links are critical for breastfeeding women and have a positive influence on breastfeeding rates and duration.

Mothers are urged to arrive at 10am to prepare for the event at 10.30am Friday.