Breastfeeding Support – Why it’s important and where to find it!
Tags: breastfeeding, breastfeeding buddies, breastfeeding support, Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt 2012.
One of the most important things you will need to succeed with breastfeeding is great support. And I’m not just talking about making sure you have a great nursing bra, though that’s important too!
The help, advice & encouragement you do or do not receive can have a huge impact on how well you breastfeed your child, how long you breastfeed for, and possibly even whether you manage to breastfeed at all.
I was incredibly lucky to have an amazing amount of support from family – my husband was really helpful for the entire 13 months I breastfed, and my Mum was always just a phone call away to provide helpful advice and support.
Feeding Georgie with her boob hat on!
James was able to give a lot of practical support as well as emotional – everything from fetching me drinks and snacks to lifting a sleeping baby off my lap at 4am to take her to her crib without waking her! I used to keep my mobile beside me and call him in the middle of the night to come get her, so I didn’t wake her up by trying to get up from my low nursing chair with her in my arms – I was usually really stiff and awkward after 4 or 5 hours sitting with her doing a mammoth cluster feed.
Unfortunately the midwives at the hospital were not so helpful, and my first few visits from the local midwife at home were a bit useless too! They were giving me conflicting advice, not checking the latch properly, and telling me to do things that only managed to upset my brand new baby. Once we moved house when Georgie was 3 weeks old things were a lot smoother, as we had begun to learn each other’s ways and my new health visitor was really supportive and kind. It is amazing how much someone just telling you how great you are doing can make you feel so much better and ready to face the next challenge, and this early deficiency in my support from my NHS workers really showed me how much your support level affects your ability to breastfeed confidently.
Myself and the rest of my new buddies on the day we finished the course!
Once I started attending baby groups I found more support on hand there – both from other mums and the local breastfeeding buddy system; one of the buddies was available at some of the sessions – and that’s what I am now! Finding your local buddy (or equivalent support worker/volunteer) can be a real boon so I really encourage you to ask your health visitor or at your sure start centre if there is a local support system. A great tip a commenter made on an earlier post was to get in touch while you’re still pregnant, so you have a connection with a local buddy, making it easier to ask for help later on!
As well as buddy systems there are also breastfeeding support groups that can be a real help, and helplines that you can call. If you are having problems with your latch, I really recommend letting a local support worker observe a feed and help you make sure that you’re latching properly. The videos on the “bump to breastfeeding” dvd can be helpful for latch problems too, and the same videos can be found on the Best Beginnings website listed below.
Here are some great places you can find support:
- National Breastfeeding Helpline on 0300 100 0212
- Start 4 Life Helpline on 0300 123 1021
- The Breastfeeding Network Supporterline on 0300 100 0210 , and support centres
- Local NCT branches often have breastfeeding support groups
- La Leche League website, helpline on 0845 120 2918, and support groups
- Best Beginnings - great videos to help with all sorts of breastfeeding problems!
- Be A Star - a campaign dedicated to increasing the number of young mums who choose to breastfeed with local support group details and advice.
Find more information about breastfeeding support on the NHS website.
Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt 2012
This post is part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt 2012. You will be able to view more great articles about breastfeeding at the following participating blogs:
- Diary of a First Child
- Life Happens So Smile
- Mixed Bag of All Sorts
- Ponderings of a Doula
- My Thoughts on Things
I am working with Babybeads-UK for the duration of the scavenger hunt, and will be hosting a special giveaway of one of their products on the last week of the hunt! Established in 2006, Babybeads-UK manufacture and sell breastfeeding necklaces and reminder bracelets. All of their products are hand-crafted in the UK by specially trained staff and can be useful for fun and educational purposes well after the breastfeeding stages are over. Even better, they are always happy to make a bespoke necklace for no extra charge and you can even have them personalised with your baby’s name! They have also donated a breastfeeding necklace and reminder bracelet to the grand prize.
Thank you for reading! Please complete the following Rafflecopter form to enter the competition for the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Grand Prize. Want to take part and try to win loads of prizes? Read the instructions here.
12 Comments
Tina Bailey (@TheMotherGeek)
Yet another fab post. I only really had hubby for support.
My mum is so anti breast feeding it’s insane. Every time I complained, she just told me to quit. I am determined to get to a BF group this time though.
Hubby was definitely my biggest BF support. xx
Shoshanah Cohen
My biggest breastfeeding supporter was an LLL volunteer who diagnosed tongue tie when all NHS staff had missed it.
kim plant
my husband if it wasnt for his support i wouldnt be able to pop them out any where x
Attachment Mummy
My husband has been the greatest support. Some of my friends were fab too, but many didn’t understand why I went beyond a few months. Family are of the bottle generation, so don’t get it at all! My mum thinks women breastfeeding in public are being exhibitionist – you can imagine the ahem conversations we have had!
esther james
my health visitor was incredibly supportive and I owe her a lot!
mixed bag of all sorts » Breastfeeding support: accurate info, practical help, listening ears
[...] Mama Geek – Breastfeeding Support – Why it’s important and where to find it! [...]
ruthcumming
Informative post! Definitely agree that finding this all out whilst pregnant is a good idea – I wish I had have done that. I was lucky to come across LLL when I needed them most, as my midwife and health visitor were quite frankly rubbish on breastfeeding and gave me inaccurate or no advice. But my biggest supporter has been my husband. I know that I could not have got to where we are today (still bfing at 16 months) without his constant practical and emotional support
Claire Willmer
Like yourself my local nhs service did not offer me any support at all except leaflets during pregnancy and having a look to see if she was latched on correctly. My husband is amazing just like yours he is always there for support reassurance and a nice cuppa when needed and my mum was always to hand when i was having a moment of unsure is she getting enough etc. I always offer support to friends now as not everyone is lucky to having a supportive and helpful family and i feel blessed as i know they will be the same when our next little girl decides to arrive lol x
hannah
My mum is my biggest supporter, she answered lots of questions and supports me when I come across negativity or just need encouraging because I am tired!
Donna McP
My daugher (3) is a great supporter she tells everyone that her brother only drinks mummy milk, she attends the breast buddies group I run and knows everyone by name, fetches drinks for them. When at home she fetches stuff for me if I’m feeding.
In the early days it was my partner, I had a difficult time first time around and a few times said “lets just try a bottle of formula” out of pure desperation and lack of knowledge. he would say “lets just take it a feed at a time, you can do this, you know its what you want to do” and that was enough to get me through the rough stages till I got some proper support and advice.
Now my circle of mummy friends are my biggest support, its great to have people you can talk to open and honestly… peer support is a wonderful thing! My top tip all last week was to find your local support/peer supporters/breastfeeding group before baby is born so you can get to know them, this makes it much easier to contact them after baby is born; faces to names and voices. Its good to know you have support from people who you know and are familiar with and that you trust.
Samantha Holloway
My mum and dad are my biggest supporters as my mum breast fed me and my 5 siblings, although I was 18 when I had my first I believe I breast fed as to me it was the normal thing to do as my 3 younger brother were born when I was in my teens so breast feeding was like a natural part of life for me whereas the bottle seemed strange.
Hannah Moody
Definitely my mother in law! She Breastfeed all three of her boys and is an inspiration