The Wallingford Baby Cafe is a drop in support group for the expectant and breastfeeding mothers of Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK. We're at the Ridgeway Church every Thursday at from 12-2pm and offer companionship, support, practical advice - or just cake and hot drinks!
What is a Baby Cafe?
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!
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