How can I get help if I am struggling with feeding my baby?
In the first two weeks please ask the midwives and maternity care assistants for help. All midwifery staff at Southmead Hospital, Cossham Birth Centre and in the community have had training to help mothers with feeding their baby. The midwifery teams can also refer you to see an Infant Feeding specialist midwife if you need more specialist help and support.
Ask the midwives on the ward to help you. Speak to your community midwife about feeding and contact your community midwife if you have concerns between visits.
Your Health visitor will also visit you at home around day 14 and they are also trained to assess and support feeding. Please talk to your health visitor about how feeding is going.
Support in Bristol
Bristol became the first Baby Friendly city in 2010. This means that there is lots of good support for breastfeeding in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. There are lots of local support groups run by trained peer supporters. We also have several breastfeeding counsellors in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset, some of these counsellors are paid by the councils.
We recommend that you go along to a local support group when you feel ready. Some mothers prefer social media groups rather than face to face and we have friendly Facebook groups managed by trained peer supporters - search Bristol Breastfeeding Mummies.
The following links are to the PDFs of support groups in the BNSSG area:
www.bristol.gov.uk (Bristol)
www.bristol.gov.uk (North Somerst)
www.bristol.gov.uk (South Gloucestershire)
For more information on breastfeeding in Bristol visit www.bristol.gov.uk