You may have heard the news about the research trial being launched where women get £200 of high street shopping vouchers if they manage to keep breastfeeding until 6 months. To us that's really treating the wrong aspect of the lack of breastfeeding mothers.
90% of women that stop BF in the first 6 weeks say that they wanted to
keep going but couldn't find the help and support. The NHS spends £40
million each year treating problems in AF babies that would not have
been spent if the same baby were BF (they have 50% increased risk of
developing type 2 diabetes, 30% increased risk of adult obesity and 50%
increased risk of SIDS).
AF babies see their GP 5x more often in their
first year. There is an increased risk of multiple sclerosis, heart
disease in adulthood, childhood leukaemia, all bowel cancers and breast
cancer in both the mums that AF AND their AF daughters!
Over a 5 year
period, the cost to the NHS is £200million pounds and, over the same
period, just under 5million women give up BF before 6weeks that wanted
to carry on. The people that suffer most are the children of single and
vulnerable women as they often lack access to other amenities such as
warmth and adequate housing.
So, far from being only of importance to
white middle classes, if our more vulnerable babies were BF the NHS
would save on chest infections, ear infections, gastroenteritis. Human milk does not make a healthy baby healthier, it stops a
healthy baby getting sick. It is not a luxury item but a necessity that
all babies should be getting to protect their health.
The Wallingford Baby Cafe provides support, help, advice to all breastfeeding mothers - we don't turn anybody away from our doors. Whatever questions women have about breastfeeding we do our best to answer them, we encourage them when they're struggling, show them alternatives when they need them and offer a shoulder when they just want to have a moan or a cry. We're about to close due to lack of funding after just one year during which we've had over 500 'clients' through our doors.
The help we offer has never been more necessary but the money isn't going to us and organisations like us. It's not going to Healthcare professionals in desperate need of new, in-depth training. If we received £200 for every woman we've helped we'd have tens of thousands of pounds and could help hundreds more women and babies for years and years to come.
If you'd like to help us fundraise to keep the WBC open then please send us an email to wallingfordbabycafe@gmail.com
Thank you
*AF - artificial formula
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Party Day!
Today is our launch party.
The Ridgeway Community Church, Wallingford 12-2pm.
We have TV & film celebrity Joanna Page, celebrity nutritionist Jenny Tschiesche, lots of cake and a smashing prize draw for chocolate, toiletries, jewellery, free advertising - all sorts of things!
Please come and support us - we may even have some sunshine too!
And watch this space for photographs and a full account of how it all went...
The Ridgeway Community Church, Wallingford 12-2pm.
We have TV & film celebrity Joanna Page, celebrity nutritionist Jenny Tschiesche, lots of cake and a smashing prize draw for chocolate, toiletries, jewellery, free advertising - all sorts of things!
Please come and support us - we may even have some sunshine too!
And watch this space for photographs and a full account of how it all went...
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Anna's Testimonial
We love to hear what some of 'our' mum's say about the Wallingford Baby Cafe. It makes it all worth while if we hear good things and any negative comments (should we ever get any) will help us to refine our services to help women and their families even more. We were sent the following testimonial recently and are very proud to share it on here. We work hard to create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, as well as providing accurate and up-to-date information and help and it's lovely to see that we've been successful.
I had really wanted to breastfeed, but also had mixed feelings as I had previously had a baby girl, Philomena, who was stillborn at term. I had produced milk for her, so lactating again now brought painful memories of not being able to feed her, as well as the delight of feeding my new baby boy.
The baby cafe volunteers were very accepting and understanding,
letting me talk when I needed to. I found the group excellent for
help with feeding questions and problems, but also a lovely
way to meet others and have a cup of tea and great homemade cake.
As time went on I found that quite a lot of my new mummy friends were giving up breastfeeding and I was in the minority at most baby groups. I found the baby cafe helped encourage me that it was worth doing all those night feeds!
I loved it that at baby cafe there would often be older babies and toddlers having a feed and there was no sense of breastfeeding being withdrawn until the baby wanted it to be.
When my baby grew teeth and began to bite, it was the advice of baby cafe which nipped the nipping in the bud! My gorgeous boy is nearly 10 months old now and still happily breastfeeding. I owe you all a big thank you, you made such a difference to us.
Anna and Orlando
"I first heard about the new Wallingford baby cafe from the midwives and looked forward to going along to it. The opening session was really busy but the people staffing it made time to come and talk to me and ask about my baby. I felt very welcome and included.
I had really wanted to breastfeed, but also had mixed feelings as I had previously had a baby girl, Philomena, who was stillborn at term. I had produced milk for her, so lactating again now brought painful memories of not being able to feed her, as well as the delight of feeding my new baby boy.
The baby cafe volunteers were very accepting and understanding,
letting me talk when I needed to. I found the group excellent for
help with feeding questions and problems, but also a lovely
way to meet others and have a cup of tea and great homemade cake.
As time went on I found that quite a lot of my new mummy friends were giving up breastfeeding and I was in the minority at most baby groups. I found the baby cafe helped encourage me that it was worth doing all those night feeds!
I loved it that at baby cafe there would often be older babies and toddlers having a feed and there was no sense of breastfeeding being withdrawn until the baby wanted it to be.
When my baby grew teeth and began to bite, it was the advice of baby cafe which nipped the nipping in the bud! My gorgeous boy is nearly 10 months old now and still happily breastfeeding. I owe you all a big thank you, you made such a difference to us.
Anna and Orlando
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Breastfeeding, co-sleeping and SIDS
There has been a lot of coverage on the news today reviewing the dangers of co-sleeping and how that might increase the likelihood of cot death, or SIDS. We just wanted to reassure you that breastfeeding is still the safest way to feed your baby and if you are going to co-sleep then it is best to do it purposely and in the safest possible manner by following these guidelines from La Leche League:
http://www.llli.org/faq/cosleep.html
http://www.llli.org/faq/cosleep.html
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Baby losing birth weight? Being encouraged to give formula? Please read this first...
Dr Jack
Newman is an American Paediatrician of
renown who publishes very widely on BF. You can find many very user-friendly articles by him on-line. Links to his website and Facebook page can be found at the bottom of this article released by him in response to an article by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
We hope you find this as helpful and interesting as we did ourselves.
------
There is an article in Pediatrics (journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) published on line this past weekend that purports to show that in babies who lose 5-10% of their birth weight and given a little bit (10 ml at a time) of formula while in hospital, will more likely breastfeed exclusively. This article will be in the print version probably in June. Please share this post as the more people hear about how wrong this article is, the better.
I am shocked and disheartened that a journal like Pediatrics would publish such an inane article. First of all, as I have posted here before, % weight loss is a meaningless concept, most especially since so many women receive large amounts of intravenous fluids while in labour and during the birth. Because of these infusions, the baby is “overhydrated” and naturally urinates more and loses more weight. It is true, though, that when the mothers are swollen up with this fluid, the baby may have difficulty latching on and thus does not get milk. This already disqualifies this study from any serious consideration except that it has gotten a huge amount of press. But there is more, with only 40 mother and baby couples in this study, what does it mean, especially when the mothers in this study are said to be very motivated to breastfeed. What would it mean in a hospital where few mothers are really motivated to breastfeed, where they are going “to try breastfeeding?”
Therefore, the idea of giving formula to the babies is completely misguided. First of all, as I have already said, the mother and baby may not need any help, the baby may be doing fine. One needs to observe the baby at the breast and see if the baby is latching on well and actually drinking from the breast. See the website and find the video clips that show babies (several younger than 2 days of age) drinking at the breast. If there is a concern that the baby is not drinking well, then the first thing is not to give formula but rather to help the mother and baby with the breastfeeding. It may be a surprise to the authors of this article that it is actually possible to help mothers and babies breastfeed in the first few days without supplementation (be it formula or donor milk). Women are constantly given the message that their bodies are failing. Something is always better than the mother – medical equipment, incubators, nursery, syringes with “just a little bit” of formula, scales.
There are two things about any supplementation, be it donor milk (as suggested by Dr Alison Stuebe who critiqued this article in her blog) or formula:
a) the message that is sent to mothers that tells them “yes, we were right all along, your baby was indeed starving and you didn´t have enough milk”
b) it provides a “solution” that prevents mothers from getting real good hands on help and it prevents them from learning what they really need to learn to have confidence in breastfeeding.
There is nothing worse than “proponents of breastfeeding” who believe in solving problems with breastfeeding by giving formula. Those are the ones that confuse the mothers the most.
The quotes in the article are so typical – the mothers are worried about the baby starving for the first three days, they say. So what do they do? They help them by “weighing the baby and the mothers get to see the weight dropping and dropping”. That is fantastic practical and psychological help.
And one of the last sentences is fascinating too: “their study at least suggests that formula may be a viable option – even for women who are inclined to dismiss it”. I also love it how they say their results may not be applicable elsewhere because they live in a community where women are eager to breastfeed and 98% initiate breastfeeding. So surely they must find ways to give these babies formula
https://www.facebook.com/DrJackNewman/posts/191865550964499
http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/
We hope you find this as helpful and interesting as we did ourselves.
------
There is an article in Pediatrics (journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) published on line this past weekend that purports to show that in babies who lose 5-10% of their birth weight and given a little bit (10 ml at a time) of formula while in hospital, will more likely breastfeed exclusively. This article will be in the print version probably in June. Please share this post as the more people hear about how wrong this article is, the better.
I am shocked and disheartened that a journal like Pediatrics would publish such an inane article. First of all, as I have posted here before, % weight loss is a meaningless concept, most especially since so many women receive large amounts of intravenous fluids while in labour and during the birth. Because of these infusions, the baby is “overhydrated” and naturally urinates more and loses more weight. It is true, though, that when the mothers are swollen up with this fluid, the baby may have difficulty latching on and thus does not get milk. This already disqualifies this study from any serious consideration except that it has gotten a huge amount of press. But there is more, with only 40 mother and baby couples in this study, what does it mean, especially when the mothers in this study are said to be very motivated to breastfeed. What would it mean in a hospital where few mothers are really motivated to breastfeed, where they are going “to try breastfeeding?”
Therefore, the idea of giving formula to the babies is completely misguided. First of all, as I have already said, the mother and baby may not need any help, the baby may be doing fine. One needs to observe the baby at the breast and see if the baby is latching on well and actually drinking from the breast. See the website and find the video clips that show babies (several younger than 2 days of age) drinking at the breast. If there is a concern that the baby is not drinking well, then the first thing is not to give formula but rather to help the mother and baby with the breastfeeding. It may be a surprise to the authors of this article that it is actually possible to help mothers and babies breastfeed in the first few days without supplementation (be it formula or donor milk). Women are constantly given the message that their bodies are failing. Something is always better than the mother – medical equipment, incubators, nursery, syringes with “just a little bit” of formula, scales.
There are two things about any supplementation, be it donor milk (as suggested by Dr Alison Stuebe who critiqued this article in her blog) or formula:
a) the message that is sent to mothers that tells them “yes, we were right all along, your baby was indeed starving and you didn´t have enough milk”
b) it provides a “solution” that prevents mothers from getting real good hands on help and it prevents them from learning what they really need to learn to have confidence in breastfeeding.
There is nothing worse than “proponents of breastfeeding” who believe in solving problems with breastfeeding by giving formula. Those are the ones that confuse the mothers the most.
The quotes in the article are so typical – the mothers are worried about the baby starving for the first three days, they say. So what do they do? They help them by “weighing the baby and the mothers get to see the weight dropping and dropping”. That is fantastic practical and psychological help.
And one of the last sentences is fascinating too: “their study at least suggests that formula may be a viable option – even for women who are inclined to dismiss it”. I also love it how they say their results may not be applicable elsewhere because they live in a community where women are eager to breastfeed and 98% initiate breastfeeding. So surely they must find ways to give these babies formula
https://www.facebook.com/DrJackNewman/posts/191865550964499
http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
It's our party and we'll feed if we want to!
We have exciting news to announce!
As part of National Breastfeeding Month 2013 we're opening our doors to have a grand official launch party. We'll have cake, balloons, babies, prizes and at least one special celebrity guest!
It's going to be on Thursday 20th June at our usual time and location and we'd love to see you there. Come along and celebrate everything we've achieved over the last few months and help us to raise our profile and let everyone know what a vital resource we provide to the women of Wallingford in need of breastfeeding support and advice!
Keep checking back here for more information on our special guests and other exciting info.
As part of National Breastfeeding Month 2013 we're opening our doors to have a grand official launch party. We'll have cake, balloons, babies, prizes and at least one special celebrity guest!
It's going to be on Thursday 20th June at our usual time and location and we'd love to see you there. Come along and celebrate everything we've achieved over the last few months and help us to raise our profile and let everyone know what a vital resource we provide to the women of Wallingford in need of breastfeeding support and advice!
Keep checking back here for more information on our special guests and other exciting info.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Ten fun reasons...
There's plenty of literature out there explaining the multitude of very good reasons for breastfeeding - health, emotional and financial - but breastfeeding isn't just serious business, however important. It's also fun, and easy and we love it. So here are some fun reasons for breastfeeding your baby:
1 - It's an excuse to buy more clothes. Ok, so you can manage with the ones you've got, but it's a lot easier sometimes with special nursing tops and dresses and if you have a special occasion you will almost certainly need a new outfit for it. So make the most of the opportunity and splash out on some lovely post-maternity things for you as well as more cute babygros.
2 - Catch up on your telly! Establishing breastfeeding can take a while, and those teeny people do like their grub, so you'll be sat around a lot. Now is the ideal opportunity to stock up on DVD box-sets and lovely trashy novels to while away those long hours on the sofa. And make sure the cushions are well fluffed!
3 - Eat some cake. And a little more. And just one more slice... Breastfeeding can burn up to 500 calories a day, apparently, and those disrupted nights only encourage your need for sugar, so just go for it. Eat whatever it is you fancy. You need to keep up your strength and there is plenty of time to lose weight once you've got to grips with your new baby, so you may as well enjoy the guilt-free snacking.
4 - Some of us need no help with our busts, but plenty more of us actually enjoy our new-found milk-filled cleavage, so flash a bit of it and maybe you'll distract yourself from that slightly wibbly mummy tummy you'll be blessed with just at first.
5 - Leave the washing up; and the hoovering; and the dusting. See point 2. You'll be sitting on your sofa watching TV and feeding your baby. The housework can wait for someone else to do it. After all, you'll have heaps of people coming to visit the baby, we're sure they won't mind sticking a wash on for you! Also great for getting you out of cooking the dinner. One of our staff (who shall remain nameless) has even admitted to sticking a sleeping baby up her jumper and swearing blind he was feeding so her husband had to cook...
6 - Hormones! Normally these are horrid little things that rule our lives as women and make us miserable, but this is the exception. Oxytocin is amazing. Just look at your baby's face when he's finished his feed. See that glassy-eyed milk-drunk grin? That's a hearty dose of the same hormones you're getting too. Nature's own high. Enjoy them. They're lovely stuff.
7 - It can feel good! Honest. If you're new to breastfeeding that may seem impossible, but if you get the positioning and attachment right then suckling your baby is a pleasant sensation. Nobody ever told us that but it's true.
8 - Hormones! Ok, so we've already touched on this, but the look on your baby's face when he's finished a feed is priceless and you only get that from the hormones in breastmilk. Formula just can't make your baby look milk-drunk like that and it has a never ending scope for amusement and cute baby photos. Here's a pic to illustrate our point!
9 - It smells amazing. Really. Breastfed babies have the best breath. they smell of caramel, it's just delicious. Even their poo smells good, like toffee yoghurt. And when you're changing upwards of ten pooey nappies a day that makes it a damn good reason!
10 - You can get your baby back from well-meaning relatives when you're in need of a baby cuddle. It's amazing how soon you miss cuddling that tiny little body when half the time you seem to be wishing you had your hands free, but as soon as someone else takes them you want them back and breastfeeding is the best possible excuse to be selfish. Who can argue with that?
1 - It's an excuse to buy more clothes. Ok, so you can manage with the ones you've got, but it's a lot easier sometimes with special nursing tops and dresses and if you have a special occasion you will almost certainly need a new outfit for it. So make the most of the opportunity and splash out on some lovely post-maternity things for you as well as more cute babygros.
2 - Catch up on your telly! Establishing breastfeeding can take a while, and those teeny people do like their grub, so you'll be sat around a lot. Now is the ideal opportunity to stock up on DVD box-sets and lovely trashy novels to while away those long hours on the sofa. And make sure the cushions are well fluffed!
3 - Eat some cake. And a little more. And just one more slice... Breastfeeding can burn up to 500 calories a day, apparently, and those disrupted nights only encourage your need for sugar, so just go for it. Eat whatever it is you fancy. You need to keep up your strength and there is plenty of time to lose weight once you've got to grips with your new baby, so you may as well enjoy the guilt-free snacking.
4 - Some of us need no help with our busts, but plenty more of us actually enjoy our new-found milk-filled cleavage, so flash a bit of it and maybe you'll distract yourself from that slightly wibbly mummy tummy you'll be blessed with just at first.
5 - Leave the washing up; and the hoovering; and the dusting. See point 2. You'll be sitting on your sofa watching TV and feeding your baby. The housework can wait for someone else to do it. After all, you'll have heaps of people coming to visit the baby, we're sure they won't mind sticking a wash on for you! Also great for getting you out of cooking the dinner. One of our staff (who shall remain nameless) has even admitted to sticking a sleeping baby up her jumper and swearing blind he was feeding so her husband had to cook...
6 - Hormones! Normally these are horrid little things that rule our lives as women and make us miserable, but this is the exception. Oxytocin is amazing. Just look at your baby's face when he's finished his feed. See that glassy-eyed milk-drunk grin? That's a hearty dose of the same hormones you're getting too. Nature's own high. Enjoy them. They're lovely stuff.
7 - It can feel good! Honest. If you're new to breastfeeding that may seem impossible, but if you get the positioning and attachment right then suckling your baby is a pleasant sensation. Nobody ever told us that but it's true.
8 - Hormones! Ok, so we've already touched on this, but the look on your baby's face when he's finished a feed is priceless and you only get that from the hormones in breastmilk. Formula just can't make your baby look milk-drunk like that and it has a never ending scope for amusement and cute baby photos. Here's a pic to illustrate our point!
Thanks to The Organ Family Blog for the photo
9 - It smells amazing. Really. Breastfed babies have the best breath. they smell of caramel, it's just delicious. Even their poo smells good, like toffee yoghurt. And when you're changing upwards of ten pooey nappies a day that makes it a damn good reason!
10 - You can get your baby back from well-meaning relatives when you're in need of a baby cuddle. It's amazing how soon you miss cuddling that tiny little body when half the time you seem to be wishing you had your hands free, but as soon as someone else takes them you want them back and breastfeeding is the best possible excuse to be selfish. Who can argue with that?
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