Keep specialist breastfeeding support at Barnet Hospital, North London

[CounsellorGirl]

Have you or someone close to you given birth at Barnet or Chase Farm Hospitals in recent years?

If the answer is yes, then chances are you will have heard of Bella Dale.

If the answer is no, but you value the importance of being able to receive effective breastfeeding support and perhaps have received it yourself then please read on.

Bella heads up the Antenatal Education and Breastfeeding Support at Barnet Hospital. She is a specialist midwife, and a real expert in her field. Hospital bosses are proposing to axe her post as they believe it to be ?non-business critical.?

As a local mum, who gave birth to one of her children at Barnet Hospital, I am outraged that the hospital bosses are considering cutting the Infant Feeding Specialist post. The breastfeeding support I received from Bella in the first few months of my son's life was invaluable. I continued to breastfed him for 22 months, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I would not have managed to do so for more than 2 or 3 weeks if I had not had this input.

If we want to see this service continue we need to take action NOW. You can sign an e-petition at www.ipetitions.com/petition/breastfeeding. The petition has to be presented to the Chief Executive of Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust by 6th October. Please tell friends, neighbours and anyone else you know who might be interested in signing the petition.

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All signed!

OK will chat -

Nephew doing well, one remaining kindney good, he will continue on antibiotics for at east 2 years to be on the safe side. Is now 4 (and a bit) months old, still exclusively bf, and all inall a real cutie.

Move isn't so great. It has been discovered (through survey) that the house (which is fine in itself) is in a flood plain with a 1 in 100 chance of floding annually. In truth it hasn't actually flooded that area since 1968 and that was when it was rural and not built up but we are waiting on other more invovled reports to determine if it is wise to go ahead (ie what is the real risk, will be have difficulty selling on, can we get household insurance etc). So we will see.

DD started reception 2 weeks ago and is loving it (will be a bit of a blow to move her but she will cope).

So how is life with you and your boys?

PS all of the above can be interpreted as

"BUMP"

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Oops,just take him off and say a very firm 'No!'
I think they all try it on like this.

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DS2 just been through a bitey phase (teething - got three in fairly quick succession) - I had plans of how I was going to deal with biting baby this time round, but they went out of the window when he did it and I just ended up screeching He hasn't done it for a bit, but bloody hell, baby teeth are sharp!

CoV, hope the house sale goes through - tis a worry with flooding, especially as it seems to be getting more prevalent and as places get more and more built upon the water has less chance to sink back into the ground.

Oops, glad to hear he's feeding again (albeit with his teeth!).

And...bump!

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hi oops, am enjoying the nattering and bumping. wasn't planning to come to the xmas meet as am terminally antisocial (well, shy)

ashamed to say don't remember any daniels at barnet but perhaps not too surprising as i sometimes forget my own childrens' names

BUMP!

Sophable, are you back? Important petition here!

bumping , as I could really do with having this support now Im bf dd2 and seem to have lots of little queries that Im posting on here.

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Awwww thats great news , Im so pleased that this has been the outcome . I must must drop her a line and say hello. Does she have an email addy I wonder at the hospital?????

chalk one up for the boobsquad.

Sorry, I am a bit late for this, but very pleased Bella has kept her job. I have spoken to her on the phone once to offer to help as a volunteer.

I gave birth at the Edgeware Birth Centre. I know I would go completely crazy if they ever shut it down.

Well we may be too late to save our 2 lactation consultants at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals!
They are 8also8 being sacked... and those hospitals supposedly want to be baby friendly... don't make me laugh.
I help out at the BF clinic and we can get 19 women in 3 hours !!!! It's a joke that they are closing the clinic and the support in the wards. Now women will have to rely on maternity care assistants and midwives... pure lottery as the real care they will get

pupuce - that's an f*ing disgrace.

I think the NHS is creating lots of baby
UN-FRIENDLY hospitals if you ask me. Get UNICEF in. They will have a good laugh.

Well done Counsellorgirl for starting this thread. I too have very fond memories of Bella Dale from when I gave birth to my first at Barnet.
Her pager number was imprinted in what was left of my brain then and I was inspired by how much passionate she was about breast feeding and how much she was prepared to give of her own time and energy to help new mums like me.

doh!

sorry for putting the name on! agh, should i ask for my post to be removed??

im not even first to post the thank you letter...
[oh dear]