No matter what stage of feeding you are at there are times where we need a bit of extra support. Sometimes this might be ‘live’ face to face, on the phone or virtually, sometimes it might be a trusted source of information like a website or book.
Here are some of the ways you can access support with feeding your baby. Please share and save this! You never know when you might have a friend in need. After all…parents support parents.
Healthcare Professionals
Even between visits your midwife or health visitor can be contacted for support.
You can also contact the infant feeding team directly at the hospital where you gave birth – these are specialists dedicated to infant feeding support.
Other Professional Support
There are qualified infant feeding consultants called ‘IBCLC’ which stands for ‘International Board Certified Lactation Consultant’. Some people choose to employ a consultant for support with feeding. To find your closest consultant check out this website:
https://lcgb.org/find-an-ibclc/
Peer Support
Infant feeding peer supporters are trained individuals who can help support parents with infant feeding. They can support many aspects of infant feeding and will signpost on to professional support where appropriate. You can find our map of peer support here:
https://bit.ly/birminghambreastfeeding
Helplines:
The national breastfeeding helpline is now 24 hours, 365 days a year!
0300 100 0212
Websites:
Breastfeeding Information:
https://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/
http://www.unicef.org.uk/…/baby…/breastfeeding-resources
Drugs in Breastmilk:
http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/…/drugs-in…
Bottle Feeding Information:
http://www.unicef.org.uk/…/bab…/bottle-feeding-resources
First Steps Nutrition:
Online Communities
You can often find online communities that are supportive and helpful. You might try searching in Facebook for ‘breastfeeding’ ‘parents’ ‘infant feeding’ ‘mothers/moms/mums/dads/fathers’ perhaps with your location to see. You could also try asking other local parents about online communities they find helpful.
If at any point you don’t feel the community is for you, or you need to take a break, feel free to remove them from your feed!
Here is the New Baby Network Facebook group for infant feeding: