Baby and Toddler Services
in Portsmouth and
south Hampshire.

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DOES BREASTFEEDING MATTER?

Article by Lynn Timms, IBCLC, of Breastfeeding Matters

The answer has to be yes.
Breastfeeding is important to me both personally and professionally.
My work as a Lactation Consultant involves a home visiting service to support local families with their breastfeeding.
This can include discussions about breastfeeding and emotional preparation before the baby is born, and, assistance and enhancement of practical skills after birth.
I have helped ladies whose babies have ranged from 6 days when feeding is still being established, to several months old in maintaining breastfeeding on return to work or throughout the next pregnancy.

Why is this service important?
Observing an activity within the context of the family is one of the ways we model our own behaviour and particularly our parenting skills when we have our own children.
The development of smaller and more mobile families has contributed to fewer children being able to witness breastfeeding as the normal way to feed a baby. In addition, today's parents, born in the 1970s and 80s, may not have been breastfed, so we are recovering from a generation where some breastfeeding skills and knowledge have been lost. Although breastfeeding rates are increasing, it seems to me that we are still a culture where formula feeding is the 'norm'.
You only need to look at the multitude of bottles, milks and accessories to witness the commercial market.
Easily accessible formula and equipment has permitted us to lose sight of the fact that that breast milk is a live and dynamic fluid, of which the constituents alter during each feed, throughout the day and duration of the following weeks and months.

Help is available.
However, gloomy as this scene appears to be, there is a range of help available in Portsmouth and Southsea.
NHS staff, including midwives, health visitors, nursery nurses and support workers, all receive training on breastfeeding issues.

Pregnant women are encouraged to consider breastfeeding and are supported postnatally via home visits or in group settings.
There are also the voluntary organisations such as the National Childbirth Trust, La Leche League , Association of Breastfeeding Mothers and the Breastfeeding Network who offer mum to mum support, some of whom have received additional training in addition to their own breastfeeding experiences.

I see the private service that I offer as complementary to the NHS and voluntary sector.
My qualification as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant combines 30 years in the NHS, and includes practical experience helping young families with further in depth study and an examination.
My overall aim is to support women and their families in their breastfeeding for as long as they wish, so that they can look back on this time as a positive experience.

I am able to offer home visits at short notice, with appointment options in the evenings and weekends.
An initial consultation covers an exploration of relevant events associated with the feeding, observation of a breastfeed and a summary of agreed recommendations.
Follow up and group session are also available.

If you would like more information on breastfeeding support in the Portsmouth and Southsea area please contact;

Tel: 02392 294290 or 07851 069146
Email: bfeedingmatters@yahoo.co.uk
Web: www.breastfeedingmatters.co.uk

"A little child born yesterday, a thing on mother's milk and kisses fed."
Homer