In the old days, it used to be mums handing down breastfeeding advice to their daughters. These days, so many of us live so far apart from our parents, even in different countries, that this sort of handing down of advice and information is becoming rarer. It may also be that your mother or mother-in-law didn’t breastfeed themselves as in the 70’s and 80’s breastfeeding rates were at their lowest so many Mums didn’t breastfeed.
These days we rely more and more on health professionals, breastfeeding supporters and friends who have breastfed and experienced friends to help us.
It is important to seek out people (health professional or mother support groups) to help you get breastfeeding off to a good start. The purpose of this article is to point you in the right direction of good breastfeeding support, not from self-professed breastfeeding gurus, but from properly qualified and experienced midwives, lactation consultants, and so on. People and groups who you can rely on and trust.
Places to get support include:
Here a breastfeeding counsellor or breastfeeding peer supporter will help ensure your baby is attached properly, they can make a tiny adjustment which can vastly improve your baby’s attachment.
Experienced breastfeeding mums can really provide community support when you go along and breastfeed at a coffee morning.
This one to one help can be a life saver but look for recommended lactation consultants with full International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) qualifications as there are some self-appointed ‘experts’ out there. You can find listings of lactation consultants by searching with your postcode on www.lcgb.org.
Lactation consultants are the most expensive options of everything we’ve suggested. You can also Google Lactation Consultants in your local area, but check their qualifications and make sure they are IBCLC and ideally get a recommendation from a friend before you go ahead. A good lactation consultant has the added benefit of coming to your house if you’re utterly exhausted and giving you information absolutely tailored to your specific problem.
Brilliant evidence-based advice on many breastfeeding issues.
The NCT is the UK’s largest parenting charity. You can join their fantastic antenatal or postnatal courses around the UK by searching for your local group on their website. They also have a helpline, information-packed website and offer NCT trained breastfeeding counsellors around the UK.
La Leche League is an international charity with telephone advice from breastfeeding volunteers. They have a UK telephone helpline (0845 120 2918) where you can ring to ask advice. The leaders taking the calls are breastfeeding experienced mums themselves who offer practical suggestions and warm support. You can also find your local LLL group by entering your postcode on their website.
Good information e.g., on which prescription drugs are safe to take when breastfeeding or nursing. Also on identifying why breastfeeding hurts. They also have a group search facility on their website.
Comes together with the Breastfeeding Network to run the National Breastfeeding Helpline 365 days a year 9.30am-9.30pm on 0300 100 0212. Has some information sheets on their website. Another organisation with a group search facility on their website.
UNICEF UK Baby Friendly provide advice and support to all the infant feeding leads in UK Maternity hospitals. Their website has lots of evidence based science articles on breastfeeding for practitioners and new mums.
