National Breastfeeding Week

The difference that can be made if everyone supports breastfeeding.

New mums in Nottinghamshire are advised that this year’s National Breastfeeding Week will run from June 27th to July 3rd. The key focus will be the difference that can be made if everyone supports breastfeeding, such as partners, the wider family, community, health and education services and workplaces.

Breastfeeding provides all the nutrition a baby needs for the first six months and also helps build a strong emotional bond between a mum and her baby. Breast milk also helps boost a baby’s ability to fight illness and infection by passing on the mother’s immune defences. Babies who are not breastfed are more likely to get diarrhoea and respiratory infections. It is not uncommon for mums to experience challenges with breastfeeding and these problems can often be unanticipated, meaning that when they occur mums can tend to give up and instead switch to formula feeding.

Breastfeeding rates suggest that just 44% of mothers are still breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks. Breastfeeding is something that a mother and her baby learn together, and getting the right support can help enable mums to breastfeed for longer. Better Health Start for Life has recently launched the latest version of its breastfeeding support tool for voice, Breast Feeding Friend, which is available on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Some of the key new features are:

• Sophisticated new Voice-Search algorithm – the app will now understand the detailed intent behind a user’s questions, rather than answering the specific question asked, meaning users get much richer, more supportive answers e.g. “how do I deal with a colicky baby?” vs. “what is colic?”
• Updated Breastfeeding Audio Guides
• Seamless sign-up to the Information Service for Parents from the voice skill

For more information about breastfeeding and infant feeding support in Nottinghamshire visit: https://www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/infant-feeding