Can feeding go diastrously wrong?

Rarely, is the answer according to some of the latest studies.

In this article published by the Guardian, the research found that "almost every baby is able to breastfeed and problems were usually caused by a lack of support that meant a child did not attach properly to the breast or was not fed often enough."

Generally it seems to be unfamiliarity with breastfeeding - especially the technicalities of breastfeeding - that cause the two most common issues.  Anne Woods, deputy programme manager for Unicef's Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI, lays the blame for this partly at the door of bottle feeding, describing how some women do not realise that " the whole of the baby's mouth has to make contact and draw the breast tissue into the mouth.

"But because we have a bottle-feeding culture in the UK," she said, "some women do not realise this and "try to bottle-feed with their breast", so the baby takes only the nipple and does not get enough milk."

The other key problem, and one that we come across often in the Baby Cafe, is lack of frequency in feeds.  As Ms Woods puts it:
"There is [...] an expectation she said, that a baby will feed and then sleep for four hours.  Yet most adults eat or drink more than six times in 24 hours, she said -even if it is only a cup of tea and a biscuit."

So if you are concerned that your baby seems to be feeding too much check your latch and check your expectations, but if in doubt get yourself along to a Baby Cafe or support group near you and get the advice you need and deserve.

To conclude allow us to quote the final paragraph of the case study included at the end of that article, written by Annalisa Barbieri:

"When breastfeeding doesn't go to plan many women get angry with each other, when the people we should be really venting to are those who make the policies that decree we are not worthy of specialised, uniform, qualified support. Don't write to me about your breastfeeding journey; write to Jeremy Hunt (huntj@parliament.uk)."

What is a Baby Cafe?

The Baby Café charity coordinates a network of breastfeeding drop-in centres and other services to support breastfeeding mothers across the UK and other parts of the world.

Our drop-in centre was set up at the end of 2012 in conjunction with the NCT and with funding from the National Lottery.  We've yet to hold our big launch event, as we wanted to get well established in the community before attracting too much attention.  We've currently seen more than thirty women come through our doors and consumed nearly a hundred cups of tea!

What happens?

We're hoping to do a post in more detail in the future, but as a rough idea here's what would happen in an average baby Cafe session:

We start right after the 'Bumps and Bundles' baby group run by the Children's Centre. Our midwife and lactation consultant, Rachel, will get to the venue just before the baby group ends and get all our paperwork set up.  Two of our peer supporters will also get there before 12pm and get the kettle boiling and the cakes set out.

We greet any of the mums who come through the door, offer them a drink and something to eat and introduce ourselves.  New mums and mums-to-be are asked to fill in a short form for our statistics and all visitors are asked to sign a register for fire safety.  How things go from there depend entirely on the mums who are visiting that day and what they want from the session, but we offer all kinds of support from a sympathetic ear to the very best in breastfeeding information.

What's a peer supporter?

Peer supporters are mums who have successfully breastfed themselves for at least six months and undergone an NCT-run training course in basic counselling and breastfeeding support.

We have ten peer supporters working in rotation, so you may not necessarily see the same one each time, but we're a friendly bunch and you'll soon come to recognise the 'team'!

Can I come if I don't have a specific problem?

Absolutely! We exist as a resource for any expectant mum and breastfeeding mum to come along and just talk to other mums who are going through the same amazing and overwhelming experience.  If you have a problem then we can help with that too, but we love the sessions where we just have a gossip whilst fat little babies suckle and snore around us!

Do we have to make an appointment and does it cost anything?

It's a drop-in session so no appointment is required, but if you want to discuss a specific concern we recommend you turn up earlier rather than later in case we get busy - we hate to leave a mum unsupported, but have to vacate the venue at 2pm.

It's absolutely free for mums to attend.  The cakes are provided by local mums who want to support the Baby Cafe and the drinks and venue are provided by the Children's Centre - you just have to bring the milk!