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
