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Infant feeding

Postnatal support ideas please

6 replies

TeamWizzyPants · 25/02/2013 00:15

Hello all,

I am currently writing a paper on the midwives role in public health and I am very interested in how confidence with infant feeding can best be promoted in the postnatal period.

I have had an idea whereby there are postnatal drop in clinics at the same time and location as antenatal clinics so there is a midwife around if needs be, the main leaders of the clinic however would be a healthcare support worker (appropriately trained of course) and infant feeding supporters / breastfeeding peer supporters. This also means that women attending the antenatal clinic could attend, and meet, postnatal women to develop support networks, friendships and be able to ask questions.

As this is a health promotion task it would focus on supporting women to continue breastfeeding however ALL women would be welcome to attend for postnatal advice and support

In short, a face-to-face equivalent of mumsnet specifically for new and expecting mums.

Any thoughts and opinions on this would be great, I have not yet had children of my own and so I cannot give an accurate insight into the support needs of a new mother.

For those of you who are thinking about breastfeeding - would you appreciate seeing and being able to talk to postnatal women during your pregnancy?

Those who breastfed for any length of time - would something like this have been helpful?

For those who chose to formula feed from the start - would something like this have been useful to you for support?


Thankyou for your time,
TeamWizzyPants

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Andcake · 25/02/2013 06:07

Hello
I think you've missed out a large chunk of women those who struggle with bf and end up mix or ff feeding. They often feel v guilty and judged. Many hcp see these things as b&w.
Not sure I understand your whole plan as it seems to confuse peer support and mw support. But from what I can understand here is my pov
1-at antenatal stage meeting post natal mums might have scared the begibbes out of me (I only have one ds 6 mo)
2- postnatal I found best support from other mums just past my ds development or at it as you move on you have new issues and are naturally v wrapped up in dc and almost forget bit before
3 where I live I know I can pop in and see hv 2x a week) hv a bit useless and varied quality but the community midwife I also found to be of conflicting quality
4 there also seem lots of bf drop ins but I know many people need more. But in my experience mw were not the best source of help in this area
5 a place for new mums to meet sounds good again don't some places still with funding and sure start have these eg bump to 8 mo clubs. Maybe I live in a lucky area:-) sorry on phone feeding so will continue to think!

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TeamWizzyPants · 01/03/2013 18:03

Thankyou for your time and thoughts. I have looked more into local BF support available and will adapt my plan into how to improve attendance rates at Baby Cafe's / how to make them more accessible.

Again, thankyou for the input, much appreciated.

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Twattybollocks · 02/03/2013 11:30

The best support I found with dd was other bf mums to ask what I thought were inane and stupid questions not worthy of bothering a hcp with! if the other mums are peer supporters and can judge whether the question/concern needs a hcp or not, then that's ideal. A support group/coffee morning with a hcp available if needed would be ideal. if its open to mix feeding/bottle feeding mums so much the better, people need to realise that mums who ff need support aswell, bf mum may need tips on how to deal with frequent night feeds without losing the will to live, likewise ff mum may be at the end of her tether with making up a bottle at 2am or evening colic and need a shoulder to cry on! I think what I'm saying is that all new mums need the support of other women who have experienced what they are going through. One of my worst moments when dd1 was a baby was going to my bf group that I had been attending for 6 months, with a bottle of formula as I was trying to wean her off the boob before I returned to work 2 weeks later. She was screaming and carrying on about the bottle, I felt like the worst mother ever. The women at the group whom I knew well at this point were feeling for me, and we're lovely, but the hcp came in and basically said this is a bf group and you are ff, we don't think it's appropriate that you attend any more. I was asked to leave and I felt like my lifeline had been cut off.

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mum4ever · 02/03/2013 13:58

I think at the antenatal stage you would not benefit from chatting to the postnatal mums as everyone has their own experience of birth and being a new mum. I wouldn't have know which questions to ask to gain support as you don't know how things will be for you after the birth - if that makes sense ??

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mum4ever · 02/03/2013 13:58

I think at the antenatal stage you would not benefit from chatting to the postnatal mums as everyone has their own experience of birth and being a new mum. I wouldn't have know which questions to ask to gain support as you don't know how things will be for you after the birth - if that makes sense ??

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Lostonthemoors · 02/03/2013 14:04

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