Breastfeeding

Baby Friendly Initiative Breastfeeding Standards

While research fully supports breast milk as the best option for infant feeding in terms of your baby's overall health and development, your decision regarding how you wish to feed your baby needs to be based on what you feel is right for you and your baby. Whatever you choose you will be supported by healthcare professionals.

Our Health Visitors and Midwives are working together to implement the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Standards to increase our local breastfeeding rates.

The Baby Friendly Initiative is a programme designed by UNICEF to help staff to empower parents to build close and loving relationships with their babies, and to make feeding choices which support optimum health and development.

Through structured training and assessment of skills our staff work within a set of standards. Once assessed as having all standards embedded in practice an award is made by UNICEF for Full Baby Friendly accreditation.

We've been working towards Baby Friendly status since June 2018 with a certificate of commitment awarded to the Maternity Unit, Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) and our Health Visiting Services.

We're currently working towards a stage 1 assessment in 2019, with a plan for all staff in these services to receive training in the standards.

You can find out more about breastfeeding and your newborn on the NHS website.

Online videos about Bump to Breastfeeding on the Best Beginnings website follows the journey of real women through pregnancy. The video encourages women to breastfeed, describing the benefits and offering hints and tips to help women through any difficulties they may encounter.

Getting support with breastfeeding

If you have any concerns about breastfeeding or have any problems you should talk to a midwife, health visitor or doctor. Problems or concerns may include:

• sore and cracked nipples
• milk supply
• your baby’s latch and tongue tie
• breast engorgement
• thrush
• blocked ducts
• mastitis
• breast abscess

Find out more about common breastfeeding problems on the NHS website.

NCT Breastfeeding Helpline

You can get breastfeeding advice and support by calling the NCT Breastfeeding Helpline on +44 (0) 300 33 00 771 . The line is open 8am to 10pm, seven days a week. Give our volunteers a call if you have any questions or concerns about breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding Buddies

All pregnant and breastfeeding mums are welcome to Breastfeeding Buddies drop-in centres with their partners or family members to get help about all aspects of breastfeeding. Your midwife or health visitor will be able to give you information about the drop-in groups.

Hiring a breast pump

NCT Jersey's volunteer breast pump agent has Ameda Elite hospital grade breast pumps available for short or long term hire. Email NCT Jersey to find out more details.

Dairy and other food sensitivities in breastfed babies

A small percentage of breastfeeding mothers notice an obvious difference in their baby's behaviour and / or health when they eat certain foods.

Cow's milk products are the most common problem foods but other foods like soy, wheat, eggs and peanuts can also sometimes cause problems.

If your baby is sensitive to a particular food then they might show some of these symptoms:

• fussy after feeding
• cry inconsolably for long periods
• stomach rumbling and pains
• wind
• vomiting
• diarrhoea
• skin reactions such as a rash
• runny or blocked nose

If you think your baby is reacting to a particular food then speak to your doctor for advice. If your doctor thinks your baby might be sensitive to a certain food they will ask you to try eliminating that food from your diet for 2 to 3 weeks to see if your baby's symptoms improve.