Amanda Smith Lactation - Infant Feeding Support & Tongue Tie Services

We will be conducting an infant feeding survey where we will ask mothers with new babies:

➡️ how they feed their babies
➡️ where they get advice on feeding
➡️ questions on their pregnancy and lifestyle

You will get a letter if you are invited to take part.

Find out more or opt out: https://infantfeedingsurvey.ipsos.com/2023/

We love supporting research and here is an opportunity to develop a study that could help a lot of women in the future.

Have you been diagnosed with insufficient glandular tissue (IGT), or strongly suspect you have this condition? Would you like to help a research study being planned at Imperial College that aims to understand more about what causes this condition and how it can be diagnosed?

The research team run by Dr Natalie Shenker, including two fantastic medical students, are inviting women to join a focus group to help us improve a survey.

They are hoping women could spare half an hour to go through the survey, and meet with a group on Friday or next Monday to answer some questions. It would be amazing to get your thoughts on how the survey can be improved.

If you are interested in taking part, please enter your name, email and times available in the Doodle poll (link below) for Friday 5th March and Monday 8th March, and a survey will be sent to you asap! Contact [email protected] with any questions. 🤗

https://bit.ly/2ZYydp4

Thank you!

Do you need to talk?
Are you overwhelmed by negative thoughts and anxieties?
Have you and your partner been struggling to communicate effectively?

Sublime Counselling Services are now offering understanding and confidential counselling services for adults, couples and young people (ages 13+).

Our counsellors are experienced, caring and our first priority is your wellness.

If you have any questions feel free to message us on Facebook or call on 07702 137518.

If you are in need of breastfeeding support in Cambridge and the surrounding area, we are here for you. Our breastfeeding counsellors and IBCLCs are here to support you - you can message the page to ask for support, or join our group and post there or email [email protected]. We can arrange video calls with you, which is a good way to get face to face support, as close as we can right now. All free. We are here Monday-Saturday mornings. https://www.facebook.com/groups/725008948037306/

What We Mean When We Call For More Support For Breastfeeding Mothers Yes, support for breastfeeding can mean someone to sit and help you latch your baby on – but it also means acceptance, a better environment to feed in,...

Are you a parent of a baby who has received donor milk? Or a milk donor who has donated to The Hearts Milk Bank? Or did you receive donor milk as a baby?

We are about to launch our first call for a pilot research grant to explore unanswered questions across this field and are assembling a crack research committee to assess applications and choose what research will get funded.

Can you help steer our research policy and help the best, most impactful research gain funding and start making a true difference to families across the UK and beyond?

The role wll require one virtual meeting with the rest of the committee for each grant call, with the first meeting in February 2021. We hope you'll join us for a 3-year term, but whatever time can be spared would be amazing!

Please email [email protected] with a short email explaining your interest in joining the team and what skills and insights you would bring to the committee.

It's a long journey to become an IBCLC lactation consultant, and that's no bad thing!
It's the highest level of lactation care so definitely shouldn't be something you can obtain easily.
It's a huge amount of advanced learning both in study form and in practice.
IBCLC is a protected term, meaning not just anyone can say they are one as they could with Breastfeeding Specialist for example.
IBCLCs are highly trained in the clinical management of all areas of lactation, and work within a code of ethics and a scope of practice.

There are several pathways you can take to becoming an IBCLC, and it can be a bit complex. There are some great facebook groups for people looking to gain this qualification, but if it's of interest of you, expect it to be several years to get there, and financial investment too. Commitment and determination are definitely needed, but my word it's worth it!

We have a guest contributor! Miss Aimee Rowe is both a doctor and a dentist, and works in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Breastfeeding has a wide range of health benefits for child health. This includes a link with reduced risk of dental decay with breastfeeding up to 12 months. Studies beyond 12 months are unreliable. Breastfeeding beyond infancy, including night feeding, is normal. Dental teams can help families by supporting breastfeeding at any age.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breastfeeding-and-dental-health/breastfeeding-and-dental-health



General Dental Council Public Health England British Dental Association Health Education England NHS National Institute for Health and Care Excellence BSPD The Breastfeeding Network (UK) World Health Organization (WHO) The Royal College of Surgeons of England La Leche League International Association of Breastfeeding Mothers NCT

Correction: the article is 2019, not 2018.

Dihydrocodeine and breastfeeding – Breastfeeding and Medication Welcome to Wendy's WebPage on Breastfeeding and Medication. A free resource to support mothers and health professionals

Can you help us?

Due to Covid-19 we have had to cancel our planned photoshoots 😞
We are looking for images of Black and mixed heritage families feeding, cuddling, and playing with their babies💓

Would you like to contribute to our image bank?

You can donate your gorgeous pictures here >> https://diversityinfeeding.org/form/

Please like, share and tag anyone who might be interested

Credit - Capture Photography

WHO Recommends Breastfeeding, Says No Live Coronavirus Found in Mothers' Milk Breastfeeding mothers do not seem to be passing on the new coronavirus to their infants, and based on current evidence the benefits outweigh any potential risks of transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Microsoft Forms

My baby has a suspected tongue-tie and I am struggling to access division due to the COVID 19 restrictions. What can I do? - Sarah Oakley Lactation With the reduction in services including postnatal support, breastfeeding support groups and tongue-tie division services it is an extremely stressful time for new parents. If your baby is struggling to feed and has a suspected or confirmed tongue-tie you may feel the situation is somewhat hopeless....

Breastfeeding has always been, and always will be a feminist issue.

Breastfeeding is a reproductive right.

The right to breastfeed is part of a woman's right to autonomy over her own body

But in the UK in 2020 it is a right denied to most.

80% of mothers who stop breastfeeding in the early days and weeks wanted to continue and said they felt they could've continued longer if they had support (source: Public Health England). That means that 80% of mothers had their right to breastfeed stolen from them by lack of support.

Why is there a lack of support? Because no-one will fund it. No-one will fund training for health care professionals and volunteers because women's reproductive rights simply aren't treated with respect.

Breastfeeding problems, like many 'women's troubles' are dismissed and minimized. Breastfeeding problems can cause major physical problems if they are left untreated. Not to mention major emotional problems. Many women who are forced to stop breastfeeding earlier than they would've liked suffer a very real sense of grief. This greatly increases their risk of developing PND, and in a mother who already has PND can greatly increase the severity.

The unique power of a woman's body to nurture her baby is undermined constantly, at every possible opportunity. How many women fear they don't have enough milk because their baby wants to feed very frequently? I'll give you a clue, that's the second most common reason women stop breastfeeding. The notion that babies wanting to feed frequently is a problem stems from ideas put forward by male doctors in the early 20th century that babies should feed no more than four hourly, and women should not follow their natural maternal instincts and feed responsively, but listen to the better educated men. The harm they caused persists today.

When women return to work they often have to fight in order to pump milk because in the UK women have no legally protected right to pumping breaks, or places to store milk and pump parts.

And while the Equality Act of 2010 provides every mother with legal protection to breastfeed her baby anywhere she and her baby are legally allowed to be, unfortunately some mothers still experience negativity, and some businesses still try to break the law.

Also consider this, we had to have a law passed to protect mother to feed their babies in public. The only reason we even needed a law in the first place is because women's bodies have been hypersexualized, and society has decided that the primary purpose of a woman's breasts is for men's sexual pleasure. So when women are using their breasts, for their actual, primary function, to feed their babies people sexualize it, and become offended by the simple act of a mother feeding her baby.

Breastfeeding is a woman's single greatest natural resource. And big business and society continue to try and destroy it.

Protecting breastfeeding is a woman's rights issue.

Breastfeeding is a feminist issue.

Parents of premature babies 'to get paid leave' It follows a five-year campaign by mum Catriona Ogilvy whose petition was signed by thousands.

Celebrate IBCLC® Day on 4 March 2020!

IBCLC Day was developed to recognise the important role of the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and the specialised knowledge each has to make a difference in the lives of families.

On March 4th we at LCGB will be sharing the words of families supported by some of our member IBCLCs. Feel free to share your own.

[Image description for text readers: ILCA (International Lactation Consultant Association) graphic with brightly coloured background and brightly coloured speech bubble saying "Happy IBCLC Day!"]

** Exciting news **

From April 17 (first Friday after Easter weekend), we are opening ANOTHER drop-in at Ross Street Community Centre, CB1 3UZ. Fridays 1-3pm

We will provide free breastfeeding support and information with breastfeeding counsellors and lactation consultants as we do at Trumpington Meadows.

We will be running the Ross St drop-in for a trial period, while we seek funding to support it in the long term. Would you be able to donate even a small amount to help?

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1011314

If you're a hospital doctor or work in a hospital or with mothers with health problems, or you just want something fantastic to read on a Sunday morning, then please head over to the Hospital Infant Feeding Network website: www.hifn.org

Share as far as you can! 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️

Mastitis!
🔴 I'm seeing a lot of women who are only being given 7 days of antibiotic treatment

🔴 If you are seeing your doctor for mastitis and are prescribed antibiotics, please do check that you are given a minimum of 10-14 days as per NICE guidance, to prevent recurrence!

We are proud to announce that we are beginning the Beta testing of the app! This Beta
version has the core features of the app, and we are using it to make sure that the app works well,
and, most importantly, to collect feedback.

So, WE NEED YOUR HELP! Mums, mums-to-be and medical professionals, if you’re interested in
trialling the app, please fill in this short survey:
bit.ly/2Vkziq5 and we’ll be in touch with the app link! Please watch the app demo video here: https://youtu.be/8p3TtmUPU2I

Just...this.

I’m in the ‘I couldn’t breastfeed my child’ camp with my first born. And I know all the arguments that only 2%ish of women actually can’t and it’s down to lack of support blah blah blah but I’ll carry on using can’t because, to me, I couldn’t. Just like many others feel like they validly couldn’t.

I couldn’t fight the overwhelm from the birth and being in charge of this tiny little human. I couldn’t add struggling to get him to latch onto the pain of sitting on my ripped up v***a. I couldn’t keep seeking out help when all I wanted to do was curl up, hide and sleep. I couldn’t bear the idea that he wasn’t getting food to nourish him or flush his jaundice.

So I didn’t.

I expressed exclusively and gave myself mental health issues from the trauma of the situation - something I’m only recognising and acknowledging recently. And then I stopped expressing because of some s**tty advice from the internet (what?! I hear you cry! The internet was WRONG?! 🤣🤦🏼‍♀️)

And to this day I feel guilty over what happened. To this day I wonder if I could have tried harder. Done more. Been better. I still wonder if his eczema, asthma, and generally weird reaction to foods is because I didn’t do better for him.

And I know I would tell myself that I did the best I could in the circumstances I was in. Heck, I tell women this constantly because my story isn’t a one off, still to this day. But also...I tell women it’s ok to be sad if you didn’t meet your goal. If you weren’t helped to get there. If things were too hard. Because that’s true too.

Feeding your baby is a complicated, emotional issue for many. And it should never ever be minimised by someone else.

(And as a final note if someone you love is struggling to breastfeed please please don’t say to them to just use formula. It’s literally the least helpful thing you can ever say and compounds the problems the mother is going through)

Edited 14.02.21

The past year has been many things but it’s also been the year that I’ve revised my thinking on this.

I could breastfeed my child. I did. He had breastmilk. He was breastfed.

It takes time to resolve trauma, to get closure. Perhaps it also needs a pandemic to put things into perspective 🤷🏼‍♀️

My experience was s**t and it could have/should have been better but I did my best with the hand that I was dealt and that’s the best any of us can do.

Victoria is picking back up as I step back to shift my focus (still infant feeding, always). She’s been an invaluable colleague since we both got started in providing frenulotomy, and I would not hesitate to recommend her as a most thorough, conscientious, and skilled midwife, lactation consultant, and tongue tie practitioner.

I hear myself saying these words a lot
EARLY FREQUENT & EFFECTIVE
These 3 words will support your first feed, your milk production in the early days & your baby’s weight gain. They are also what will support you if breastfeeding is taking some time to get going and if you and your baby are separated. Together they work to OPTIMISE & ESTABLISH your supply and therefore your 👶
1. EARLY - the sooner your baby breastfeeds after birth the better. Ideally within 2 hours. Skin to skin is wonderful for supporting early first breastfeeds. If for some reason you and your baby are separated then hand expressing is recommended, also within 2 hours of birth. You might want to familiarise yourself with this technique before your baby arrives.
2. FREQUENT - we know that in the beginning baby’s need to feed 8-12 times in 24 hours. You are making small volumes in the beginning which perfectly meet their needs. They have tiny tummies and the more you breastfeed/express the more you stimulate and prime prolactin receptor sites. The more of these you can prime the more you are supporting your long term milk production. So aim for at least 8 feeds in 24 hours or if you are separated from your baby aim to express at least 8 times.
3. EFFECTIVE - in order for all of this to work attachment or expressing technique must be 👌 But please remember that you are learning a new skill and learning new skills take time, so be gentle with yourself. Reach out and ask for support if you are finding it tricky.

Last year this incredible bunch raised over £5000 to support The Hearts Milk Bank and some amazing new projects later this year (watch this space)!

This year, you can join them! We have 30 places reserved for runners to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon. If you think you can get round 13 miles of beautiful central London green space and raise some money for us along the way, please get in touch by emailing [email protected]. please spread the word! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️❤

When S**t Gets Real... Many trusts don't see why they can't just offer someone a bit of training around breastfeeding, call them the breastfeeding person...

How cool is this?!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2019/07/18/breast-milk-chemical-dissolves-tumours-cancer-patients-can-pass/

Breast milk chemical dissolves tumours so cancer patients can pass them in urine, trial shows A chemical found only in breast milk helps break up tumours into fragments in the body, allowing cancer patients to pass them through their urine, trial results have shown.

We have to stop telling new mothers that they need to 'empty' their breasts when they are breastfeeding their babies! I have seen so many new mums who are stressing unnecessarily about their babies not emptying their breasts at a feed, or reluctant to switch baby to the opposite breast because the first one isn't 'empty.' We expect that a breast will feel SOFTER after a baby feeds, but it probably won't be empty. Language matters, particularly in the early postpartum period.

https://swanseachhs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6WFjaVfoFYwZeUR