If you would like to read more about pregnancy, and what to expect you can find more information here
During your midwife appointments you can talk to your midwife about anything that you’re unsure of (see the telephone number for the community midwifery hub below). Your midwife is there to support you, and help answer any questions you might have.
Breastfeeding help and support: Birth to 10 Days
At your 28 week appointment your midwife will give you a milk expressing pack. Your midwife will be able to give you more information about this. The pack will enable you to express some milk towards the end of your pregnancy usually at 36/37 weeks. You can then freeze any milk you’ve expressed at home and bring into hospital with you.
Once your baby is born, there will be support available for you by your midwife and your maternity support worker. The support is available for everyone whether you choose to have your baby in hospital or at home.
If you decide you would like to breastfeed your baby, it’s really important to remember that any amount of breastmilk has value for your baby.
Breastfeeding has lots of health benefits for you and your baby that can’t be replicated by formula milk. Your breastmilk is tailor made for your baby, it contains lots of antibodies that help your baby to fight of infections such as tummy bugs, diarrhoea, colds, chest and ear infections. There are lots of benefits for you too including helping you to bond with your baby, it can burn around 300 calories a day and can lower your chance of developing certain cancers and other health conditions such as osteoporosis (weak bones) and diabetes.
You might like to read more here https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/baby/breastfeeding/
Breastfeeding help and support – 10 -14 days
Normally around 10-14 days after your baby’s birth, you will be discharged from the care of your midwife and will be transferred into the care of your health visitor. Your midwife will let you know once you have been discharged.
If you need to contact your midwife/maternity support worker you can phone the Community Midwifery Hub in Doncaster on 01302 642794
If you need to contact your health visitor in Doncaster, you can contact the Single Point of Contact on 01302 566776.
We know how important it is to get help quickly, so please do phone, if you have any concerns about feeding, or if you need support or advice we are here for you.
You may also find the following Facebook pages helpful:
If you need to use a breast pump, we are able to loan you one. If you need this service you can phone the Health Visitor Single Point of Contact on 01302 566776.
Breastfeeding help and support – ongoing
During your pregnancy you may have visited a Family Hub, for one of your antenatal appointments. The Family Hubs also have trained breastfeeding supporters.
All Doncaster mums are able to use the Family Hubs. If you have not been to one before, you can find out more here
The Family hubs have lots of groups on offer, which you and your baby might like to try, currently the groups are running online, you can find out more by visiting the website. Our health visiting service are also running online groups, including an antenatal group, First Friends and Growing Friends, if you would like to book a free place call 01302 566776
At the moment you may feel restricted with where you and your baby are able to go, we understand it is a challenging time. You might not be doing some of the things that you imagined with your baby. There are lots of baby groups and classes starting back up, you can find them here.
You might also like to look out for the We Support Our Mums logo, at venues you visit. If you see the logo, you can be assured that the venue is supportive of a breastfeeding mum. You can find out more about the scheme here
Remember, your Midwife team, Health Visitor team, and our Family Hubs teams across Doncaster are all here to support you and your family on your breastfeeding journey. Please do contact us, if you need some support.
**Sponsored editorial post by Doncaster Public Health
