Breastfeeding support Post Reply

[Southfieldsmummy]

Hi

Can anyone recommend a breast feeding counsellor to help me overcome problems feeding my 10day old? I have a toddler so probably prefer to see someone who can come to the house.

Thanks

[erinisle22]

Are you an Nct member? I can send you a PDF of all our local breast feeding support contacts from cafes to lactation consultants etc and a personal rec from a friend of a doula who she employed too. I'm the magazine editor at w&w nct. Pm me your email address and I'll send you the relevant pages. Good luck!
Erin

Ps meant to say that most of the info doesn't depend on you being an Nct member. There are lots of bits of info for la leche, hotlines, hospital clinics, and children's centres.

[elenimum]

La Leche League of Clapham has a meeting coming up on Tuesday (2nd October) in Tooting Bec, lots of mums bring their toddlers. It's a really relaxed friendly group. It's from 10 until noon, or you can stay afterwards till 12:30 if you want to speak to the breastfeeding counsellors one-to-one. It's free, you don't have to be a member, but you can give a donation to the charity or buy leaflets etc.
http://lllclapham.blogspot.co.uk/
and they're on FB too "LLL Clapham"

I remember how challenging everything was with a baby and a toddler, good luck!

[sparkletiger]

Katherine Fisher is amazing. Used her with first baby. She did a clinic at Kings (4 hrs ago not sure if she still does) but also comes to your house and you can speak on phone for support post visit at no
extra cost. Best £60 (I think it was 60) we ever spent.

I'd suggest contacting her then following up with nCT and or
la leche groups. good luck.

Tel 07949 176776

[mamaika]

is there anything we can help you with? I'm a mum with 8 months old breast monster and I have propably read every book on the market!so not profesional but full of experience.

[Southfieldsmummy]

Thank you very much for the help and recommendations.

Much more helpful than the midwife I saw this morning who suggested I express or top up with formula!

[northside_mum]

I would also recommend Katie Fisher although, as far as I know, she no longer does home visits (I saw her in Spring this year) but has a clinic in Thornton Heath or you can see her at her house in Croydon. She is very good at following up over the phone though. I contacted/saw other lactation consultants (some of them did home visits) and Katie was by far the most experienced and had plenty of practical suggestions; I also liked the fact that she did not judge in any way and respected our views and feelings. Good luck!

[ClaphamNCT]

Hi

Please send me your email and i will send you our resources leaflet which lists all the local drop-in's and details of local lactation consultants. Alternatively the details can be found on our web pages www.nct.org.uk/clapham

Clapham NCT runs a weekly drop-in every Monday morning at the Balham Salvation Army, Balham High Road, SW12 10am-12noon. It is free, open to all and always staffed by two NCT breastfeeding counsellors as well as branch volunteers. You are welcome to come with your toddler - we have toys and can entertain them whilst you see a breastfeeding counsellor.

Wimbledon & Wandsworth NCT runs a weekly drop-in every Thursday morning at the Goosebury Bush Cafe, 115 Kingston Road, South wimbledon, SW19, 10am-12noon. It has a similar set-up to the Balham one.

You can also call the NCT breastfeeding line and speak to a breastfeeding counsellor 7 days a week 0300 330 0700, 8am to midnight. Again, it is free and open to all.

Hope this helps.

[workingmum62]

Another recommendation for Katherine Fisher, I almost gave up with my 2nd but going to see her meant I ended up breast feeding much longer than I ever thought I would. Let me know if you need her details xx

[mummySW18]

My sister has just used Geraldine Miskin for help with feeding her now 2 week old. She couldn't get the baby to latch on etc and Geraldine came to visit and gave her lots of brilliant advice as well as 2/3 follow up
Calls. The baby is now feeding properly, putting on weight and my sis is really grateful to Geraldine and much happier. Not sure of cost but if you look on Google, you'll find her website.

Good luck.

[MyBreastfedBaby]

If you're looking for private breastfeeding help for a home visit, an Int'l Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) is the professional credential you need. For comparison, an IBCLC will have passed a rigorous exam, have a minimum of 1000 hours of clinical experience helping mothers and babies with breastfeeding, a minimum of 90 hours of advanced breastfeeding education, and need about 15 hours a year of continuing education -- on top of ALREADY being an accredited breastfeeding counsellor or health professional. An IBCLC will usually be pretty up-to-date! But unless your local hospital, Baby Cafe or clinic employs one, you will probably need to pay for her services. Do encourage your local NHS to upgrade their breastfeeding advisors to this level!

You can find a certified IBCLC through the following registries:
To find a local IBCLC:
http://www.lcgb.org/consultants_local.html
http://www.ilca.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3432

To check if someone is currently IBCLC registered:
http://europe.iblce.org/ibclc-registry

Breastfeeding counsellors from NCT, LLL, BfN and ABM will usually have done a couple of years of part-time training and have a very comprehensive knowledge of breastfeeding. There is normally not any charge for their help, but they are usually available at breastfeeding cafes or mums' groups and by phone rather than for home visits, as they are volunteers. In Nappy Valley you can also find them at Balham Breastfeeding Cafe (Mondays), La Leche League of Clapham/Balham (Tuesday), and Gooseberry Bush Cafe Wimbledon (Thursday).

NCT drop-ins:
http://www.nct.org.uk/branches/clapham/ ... al-support
LLL breastfeeding mother and baby group:
http://www.lllclapham.blogspot.co.uk/
and "LLL Clapham" on FB

Peer supporters/counsellors/buddies have usually done a part-time course of 6-12 weeks and have breastfed their own baby. They often help at breastfeeding drop-ins/cafes or sometimes in hospital. Their help is free to mothers; peer supporters are like an "informed friend" and would refer on any complex issues to an accredited breastfeeding counsellor or supervising health professional.

Midwives, GPs and Health Visitors will have varying amounts of breastfeeding education, at a minimum an afternoon's lecture in medical school (true!). If your local hospital or community is going Baby Friendly, staff will be required to have a 15-18 hour course and an annual update (maybe a half day). Some of these health professionals are so experienced with helping breastfeeding mothers (but may have limited time), but if your health professional's advice isn't resolving your problems, then consider speaking to a breastfeeding specialist such as an accredited breastfeeding counsellor or an IBCLC. Do encourage your local hospital and PCT/community to go Baby Friendly!

Here's a good description of the different roles on Milk Matters: http://milkmatters.org.uk/2010/11/12/whos-helping-you/

I hope that this outlines some of the local options and clarifies what to look for and what to expect in qualified breastfeeding support.

[Maggie1]

I can thoroughly recommend Sharon George (Sharon.george@zen.co.uk). Sharon ran our NCT breast feeding session but also does private consultations. My daughter and I got to the 3 month mark but feeding was making me miserable and we were just about to give up. We saw Sharon privately at my house and she was wonderful. Practical and hugely sympathetic.

By the end of the 90 min session feeding was loads more comfortable and Sharon had spotted a tongue tie which midwives & HVs had missed. We then attended Katie Fisher's tongue tie clinic to have the little op done.

With Sharon's help, we are still breastfeeding exclusively (well except for some solids) at 6 months. This was really important to me so I am so grateful to Sharon for her support.

[Southfieldsmummy]

Thanks for all the recommendations. We saw Katherine Fisher who identified he was tongue tied and fixed it so things are much improved!

[millymoo]

Really pleased to hear you have managed to get help with your baby. I hope you manage to breast feed successfully now for as long as you both want to!

I can also add that Katie Fisher was brilliant in helping to sort out my breastfeeding problems with DD1. She came to see us when my baby was 5 weeks old and still not back at birth weight and spotted a tongue tie immediately. I have to say that the Health Visitor/M/Ws etc had not thought to look in my baby's mouth but I was given much the same advice to express and start formula top ups and made to feel that it must have been my fault (poor milk supply, bad latch etc). My DD1 had it snipped and we continued bfeeding until she was 13 months old and self weaned.

I have since discovered that this (tongue tie) is relatively common and feel this was a topic that was not really covered in any of the antenatal classes both the hospital and NCT ones. It turns out that it can be genetic (I had a tongue tie myself and my mother had great problems bfeeding me but never got help) and I do think this is something that new mums need to be made more aware of. I now have a DD2 and having her tongue looked at was the first thing I asked to do although she did not have one and bfeeding her has been a completely different experience from day 1 I knew the signs to look for.

[FSLJames]

Hi Mums,

I am the local Medela Breastpump agent, I have hospital grade pumps for you to rent, pay nothing upfront, If you need help using Medela products let me know, give me a call and I am happy to help, I am a mum of 4..

£45.00 for 30 days rental.

Give me a PM or call Dee 07789036636