What support/advice is available to BFing mums?

[HappyAsEyeAm]

Other than the invaluable support on this forum of course?!

I am planning on BFing my second child (pg at the moment) after a horrendous experience with my first baby, which ended up with me exclusively expressing by 2 1/2 weeks, and exclusively bottle feeding by 6 weeks.

I feel that if I'd had more support and advice first time round, I may not have stopped as quickly, but having said that, it was an awful time and I was really suffering and couldn't get through otherwise.

I am trying to be prepared in advance this time so that I can try and attend a group, or seek advice as early as possible if things start to go wrong. What contacts should I have in my address book? I am in the SE by the way.

Brilliant idea to gather info and contact numbers before your baby arrives :)

There are the national helplines-

NCT : 0300 330 0771 (7 days a week, 8am-10pm)
The Breastfeeding Network: 0300 100 0210 (9.30am-9.30pm every day)
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers: 08444 122949 (9.30am-10.30pm)
La Leche League Great Britain: 0845 120 2918
Government helpline manned by The Breastfeeding Network and Association of Breastfeeding Mothers: 0300 100 0212

There are LLL groups that have regular meetings, you could see if there's one near you. You can go along before your baby arrives to get some information about getting off to a good start and to make a support network of other breastfeeding mums.

Kellymom is a great online resource if you just want to look something up and get an idea of what's normal.

Best of luck with the birth.

Just to add to Eau's list, here is another directory of breastfeeding groups.

Your mw should be able to point you in the right direction too. If you can get a long to a group before you give birth and meet the organisers, then all the better.

If you feel that it would be helpful to talk through your previous experience of breastfeeding, then I think any of those on the helplines above would be happy to go through that with you.

All the best.

In my area (midlands) a local breastfeeding charity did a breastfeeding workshop for expectant parents, DH and I went to one. Perhaps check with your local breastfeeding cafe as they might know of one local to you.

One thing I wish I'd done before having DD is to find out and go to my local breastfeeding cafes. A pregnant lady came to our one a few weeks ago and I could see how useful this would have been to watch and to learn beforehand.

Find out who will be on the other end of the help lines and when you can call them.

It's usually 4 am when you want to call someone and wail that it's not working.

....or maybe that's just me.

This is great information, thanks very much indeed. I will be saving the numbers in my phone and making contact when maternity leave starts.

I also had a bad time not managing to breastfeed my first, and tried to prepare myself better for my second. We still struggled at first, but it all worked out and we're happily breastfeeding almost 6 months later.

Visiting a breastfeeding cafe is a good idea, I also went to my nearest one a bit before giving birth, it

Whoops, phone decided to post too soon...

So, visiting the breastfeeding cafe whilst still pregnant was good for me as I was able to have a little chat with the councillor and a lovely peer supporter that gave me tips and a bit of confidence.

The Food of Love is a lovely book, helpful and funny, advises without being over prescriptive.

Does your maternity hospital hold any breastfeeding classes? You may meet a breastfeeding consultant or lactation councillor there, so you'll have a contact if anything goes wrong.

A breastfeeding pillow can be great for correct positioning.

Be positive, you may encounter issues but it also may be entirely problem-free. With my son, he never latched and was angry and refusing the breast. My daughter had tongue tie so we had pain etc but she was a breast enthusiast from day one.

Be patient and calm and good luck!

My hospital also did a bf class, get in touch with your midwife or maternity unit.

The bf cafes in my area also welcome pregnant women. I / my dd were used as a 'live' example on correct holding position, when my dd was about 2 weeks old with a women who was only about 25 weeks pregnant. I've recently seen the mother and she is successfully breastfeeding which is lovely as she was telling me she struggled with her first too.

I wish I'd gone when I was pregnant now, although I make good use of the cafes these days (at least once a week).