Anyone who has started a BF support group...

[PoopMonster]

How did you get funding?

To give some background: there's no BF support group in my area (quite a large geographical area made up of lots of small towns/villages). The nearest group is 30 mins one way by car, never mind public transport).

I thought I'd set one up and looked into training, did a peer supporter module and got now got the certificate. I approached the local HVs but was told there's no support group as the wider NHS trust figures show 30% are still BFing at 8 weeks so apparently we're OK...

Thought I'd look elsewhere but local council/lottery funding etc need one year of accounts before they'll help, and won't contribute to running costs such as rent. I've found an ideal central venue for £6/hr, but I can't fund this myself. Also I can't get a clear answer about whether I'd need some sort of public liability insurance.

The frustrating thing is everyone in a position to comment has agreed with me that a) we DO need a group and b) it does ideally need to be free for ladies to attend.

Despite all this I really do want to go ahead with this group, and soon as I'm on mat leave until April then go back to work 3 days a week (so would like to get things ticking over by then).

Any ideas/experiences at all would be very welcome (I have access to leaflets, materials etc, and already know where to publicise - this is mostly a question about funding, esp the first year).

no help with ongoing costs but you could try the Co op for a grant towards some books for a little lending library, a friend of mine did this successfully for a little group she set up
I do think the group needs to be free for attendees. even feeling like they have to donate for refreshments will put people off

And a group will attract people who are having difficulties, which will be beyond the remit of a mother supporter to help with, beyond signposting really. I know mother supporters can run their own groups but it's a bit tricky to set up a group unless you have someone with more extensive training to support both you and the mums.

Thanks for all the messages, some really helpful stuff here.

Our home isn't really suitable, the front room is way too small and there's limited seating. Plus not sure if insurance would still apply?

The grant for the lending library sounds good, I'll definitely look into that

I was planning to follow any group up with a Facebook page, though more to post relevant info, dates when the group would be meeting, etc. I think just having a Facebook page would still exclude some ladies, which I really don't want to do.

I think I'll have to start counsellor training and then set up the group by the sound of it (to ensure some formal kind of support), though I can't do that yet so it puts things back a bit (4 mo DD still isn't in enough of a routine to allow for studying - not that I'd expect her to, poor mite )

My local HVs group have been in touch about meeting up for a chat, let's see how that goes!