27 June-3 July 2022 is National Breastfeeding Week, and this year’s focus is on everyone having a part to play in helping parents to breastfeed.
Breastfeeding can have its challenges, and getting the right support can make a big difference.
Breast milk is the perfect food for a baby for the first 6 months of their life. It can help to protect babies from diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, allergies, eczema, chest, ear and urinary infections, cancers, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and in later life from being overweight, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Breastfeeding also has health benefits for the breastfeeding mother, such as reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, hip fractures, heart disease and obesity.
A breastfed baby will feed frequently to begin with (between 8-12 or more feeds in 24 hours). This is normal and is a baby’s way of building breastmilk supply for the future. Your health visiting service is here to support breastfeeding mothers and their families with breastfeeding. But the support that partners, friends and family can also provide is invaluable.
Visit our blog area to read about how you can support a breastfeeding mother on their journey, whether you are a partner, relative, friend or colleague.
How to get support
Get support as early as possible to get breastfeeding off to a good start. Talk to your Health Visitor or ask them about your local breastfeeding clinics.
You can also call your health visiting duty line from 9am-4.30pm on the number for your area below:
Bracknell: 0300 365 6000 or email dutyhvbracknell@berkshire.nhs.uk
Wokingham: 0300 365 7000 or email: DutyHVWokingham@berkshire.nhs.uk
Reading: 0118 931 2111 or email HVWBRDGDuty@berkshire.nhs.uk
West Berkshire: 0300 303 3944 or email: HVWBRDGDuty@berkshire.nhs.uk
Further resources
NHS Breastfeeding: is my baby getting enough milk?
UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative