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Those tricky questions. page 7
Baby Café NewsAutumn 2015
Picnics, pop-ups and fun. page 4&5
Baby Café helped us.
page 3
page 2
In this edition...Baby Café helped me! page 3 Everybody’s talking about it: pages 4&5 news from the Baby Cafés In the news: snips and clips page 6Q&A: those tricky questions page 7Latest highlights page 8
Midwife Susan Stephenson Calderdale Baby Café, and everyone who works with Baby Cafés elsewhere, were very sad to learn of the sad death of Susan Stephenson.
Susan had worked with mothers at Calderdale Baby Café in West Yorkshire, for 13 years. Her close friend and midwife colleague, Marilyn Rogers, was invited by Susan’s family to deliver the eulogy at her funeral. Marilyn has given permission for us to take some quotes from this, highlighting the wonderful work Susan did with the Baby Café. Marilyn said how much Susan loved giving support and encouragement to mothers to establish breastfeeding and to ‘form close and loving relationships with their infant. Baby Café was the perfect place for Susan and Susan was the perfect midwife for Baby Café […] she nurtured hundreds of women at Baby Café encouraging them to enable their babies to develop secure relationships […] She held the moment, as if holding the mother and child in her hand, gently, lovingly, allowing them to feel safe and find their way together, protecting them and nurturing them, empowering them to keep going through difficulties and empowering them to be proud of breastfeeding and connected to their baby.’
Hello everyone!I hope you have all had a good summer and
managed to have a break.
This edition of Baby Café news will be ready in
time for November’s UNICEF Baby Friendly
conference, this year held in Harrogate, North
Yorkshire. So a warm welcome to conference
delegates perhaps reading us for the first time!
Baby Friendly sets the international standards
for breastfeeding support across all types of
maternity, health and community services, in
hospital maternity units and outside of them, in
community settings. I’ve been looking at the way
Baby Friendly enables health visitors to observe
and evaluate breastfeeding drop-ins. Baby Cafés
are, of course, ‘breastfeeding drop-ins’, so we can
certainly be assessed according to those standards.
I was so pleased to see that the quality standards
we have developed for all our Baby Cafés are
actually higher than the ones asked for by Baby
Friendly.
This means that for those of you in areas where
your healthcare professionals and their services
are aiming to achieve Baby Friendly status, Baby
Café can be part of your evidence. If you have a
Baby Café that’s met our own standards, in
other words, you can be confident it more than
meets Baby Friendly’s standards, too.
We went mobile in September with a pop-up
Baby Café in the exhibition hall at NCT’s
‘Babble’ event, the charity’s annual conference.
We were overwhelmed with cake, visitors and
interest from people wanting more information.
Thank you so much to everyone who helped out
at the event. You can see pictures inside this
newsletter. Spot the clever use we made of bras
- they made great bunting,... or is it ‘bra-ting’?
Trina - Baby Café co-ordinator
Hello!
page 3
Karol McCaul, who works for the NHS as a communications specialist,
has two children, Robert aged five and one-year-old Elizabeth (pictured).
‘I knew about the Baby Café already, because I’d been with Robert, and I
started attending again with Elizabeth when she was just a week old. I
really like it - it’s supportive, with a friendly atmosphere, and it’s in a good
location, just near the supermarket so I can get some shopping done on the
same outing. ‘It’s helpful to go to the Baby Café, just to see different positions, to see
what people wear when they’re breastfeeding, to get general support. It
was nice to be able to take Robert in the school holidays, as well - I think
he thought going to the Baby Café meant all the babies would be sitting
round drinking coffee!
‘Elizabeth was easier than Robert, and latched more comfortably straight
away, but just as with her brother, I had concerns about her weight gain.
She was gaining weight more slowly than a lot of babies. This time round,
though, I found the health visitors were not so quick to suggest formula,
and instead were happy for me to continue breastfeeding only. That’s
what you get from the Baby Café, too - that support and encouragement.’
Real life stories
Baby Café helped me!
Baby Café offers friendship, a listening ear plus encouragement and support. This can be important
for mums struggling with confidence and worries. This issue, we hear from two mothers in
Peterborough’s Hampton Baby Café, who share their stories.
‘The information from Trina and Abigail at the Baby Café was excellent, and every session is relaxed and unpressured. Each time I went, it gave me the heart to continue ‘one more week’ and then by the time Rowallan was about four months, I realised I didn’t need to worry any more. I had the confidence just to do it, without the worries, and to stand up to people around me who were critical. OK, breastfeeding is ‘natural’ and we know that doesn’t always mean ‘easy’, but it’s so worth it.
‘I stopped breastfeeding when Rowallan was nine months, as we hope to have another baby. If we do, I plan to breastfeed for much longer. I miss it. I miss the closeness. I almost mourned it when I stopped.
I’m so glad I had the experience, and that my older children have learnt that breastfeeding is normal and enjoyable.’
Cherie McCormick is an early years practitioner. She formula fed her first two children, now teenagers, but really wanted to breastfeed her third child, daughter Rowallan, now aged 14 months.
‘I did try breastfeeding with the first two, but I didn’t last long. It was no more than a few days - I had no confidence in it, didn’t understand how it worked, and none of my family were breastfeeders. In fact, my mother was mortified at the whole idea of it, and I don’t think she’s changed her mind, even though breastfeeding has gone really well with Rowallan.
‘The Baby Café made such a difference. When I first went, I realised I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t the only one who was fearful about not having enough milk. That was my biggest worry, right from the start.
page 4
Popping up in the park Here’s a great idea to copy for next summer – take a leaf out of the Southampton Baby Café team and pop up in your local park. In Summer, the team, plus health visitors and Sure Start workers, staged a pop-up Baby Café complete with picnic on Southampton Common. 25 mums and babies shared the sunshine and support, as part of World Breastfeeding Week. ‘The Picnic in the Park allowed us to show in numbers our support for breastfeeding. It was a brilliant chance for mums to come along with their sandwiches to share their experiences and celebrate breastfeeding and its many benefits,’ said Rosie Wilson from NCT.
In Southampton around 48 per cent of mums are breastfeeding at six to eight weeks and the aim is to push this number over 50 per cent. ‘We want to get people talking about breastfeeding and these events are a fun way of spreading the word about the benefits of breastfeeding, as well as being a great chance to let mums know there is lots of help and support out there for them if they need it,’ said Lisa Jackson, a breastfeeding coordinator for the Solent NHS Trust Health Visiting team in Southampton.
Babbling about Baby Café
Here’s the Baby Café corner, before and
after at Babble, NCT’s annual conference,
where the Baby Café team served tea,
coffee and cake and showed delegates just
what goes on - see Trina’s letter on page 2
of this issue.
Everybody’s talking about it...
Close-up look at New York State Baby Cafés
Erie County, in New York State, sitting right
on the Canadian border, is one of the spots
hosting the US branch of the Baby Café family.
This year, the prestigious Journal of Human
Lactation reported on the development of a
network of Baby Cafés in Erie County.
Erie County has one of the lowest rates of breast-
feeding in the state. Funding from a number of
sources supported training and staffing, and over
just seven months, six Baby Cafés got going,
co-ordinating their locations and opening times,
to enable 11 sessions a week across the county. One
Baby Café in Buffalo was noted for its reach with
a particularly needy population. ‘They have many
success stories of young moms and homeless moms
who felt that the Baby Café provided them with
support and valuable information that gave
them the confidence to breastfeed their babies,’
say authors Barbara Dennison and Kyle Restina.
Duis sed metus et eros sagittis volutpat vitae at massa. Phasellus sit amet luctus libero.
page 5
Fight for survivalBrilliant news from Oxfordshire. Threatened
with closure through lack of funding, Baby
Cafés across the county have been saved,
after an intense several months of writing,
campaigning, and pressure.
Said IBCLC (International Board Certified
Lactation Consultant) Lisa Mansour, project
lead for the Oxford Baby Cafés group, ‘We have
supported many families to achieve or surpass
their breastfeeding goals over the last decade or
so, and are well thought of amongst our health
colleagues, with many referrals coming from
midwives, health visitors and GPs. So it was
very concerning when we were faced with
potential closures due to the very uncertain
future of local children’s centres, which fully
fund our service.’
They did lose one Baby Café in the summer, and
the threat to others was real.
Lisa added, ‘we tried to get assurances from the
local authority and explore other funding options,
but the summer rolled on and the pressure was
mounting. As IBCLCs and breastfeeding
supporters, our strategic and campaigning skills
are pretty nascent (but we’re learning fast), so
we turned to the best resource we have: our
Baby Café mums!’
Mothers expressed their concerns in letters to
the local authority, public health department,
local councillors and MPs (including the Prime
Minister David Cameron).
‘The local press took up the story,’ said Lisa, ‘and
our Facebook group really helped to coordinate
the campaign and gather momentum. Some of
our mums are doctors and, along with colleagues
who also support breastfeeding mums and babies,
several of them sent a letter outlining the
importance of our service and the impact closing
it could have on the health of their own families
and that of their patients and therefore increase
pressure on their clinical settings. Local midwives
were poised to follow suit, when we heard that
our contracts have been extended till the end of
March 2016. Thank goodness!’
Of course the fight is not over. Lisa and colleagues
want to avoid being in the same position in March.
But for now, they have time to come up with a
good plan and to make strong proposals for
future funding.
Shout out to Dallas The Baby Café in Dallas, Texas has a great addition - a dads’ lounge!
The addition is a chill-out corner for dads to use if they want to, alongside a toddlers’ play area. Co-ordinator Sandra Rodriguez sent us a great update plus pics about the Baby Café held all day, 8.30am to 5pm, three times a week, and open for phone support outside those times, too.
...events and happenings
around Baby Cafés
Picnic in PeterboroughPeterborough’s health visiting team celebrated their Baby Friendly accreditation for the second time this summer, and shared their celebrating with National Breastfeeding Week.
A breastfeeding picnic, organised with peer supporters and Baby Café team members, attracted large numbers of people, invited from parent and baby groups across the city. Together with NCT breastfeeding counsellors, they met at Ferry Meadows with food, drink and plenty of cake. When it rained, the park café offered refuge. ‘The venue was soon full of breastfeeding mums and children,’ said Jennifer Radford, trainee peer supporter. ‘I grabbed a table with a friend and we were joined by another lady that she knew from their local baby group. One of the things that really stood out for me was that, because of the common purpose of those attending the picnic, there was a really supportive atmosphere with people discussing tips and tricks for successful feeding and sharing their experiences. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to test out my newly-learned skills and offer some peer support to a new mother - hopefully I was able to be of some use!’
For crying out loud
A new book, “Finding your way with your
baby”, by Dilys Daws and Alexandra de
Rementaria, looks at the ‘emotional life of
parents and babies’.
Among a wonderful explanation of how parents
and babies develop their relationship, it has some
great stuff on crying and calming. The authors - both
child psychotherapists with years of experience in
helping mothers and babies - share the important
insight, ‘crying is not a criticism of you’.
They offer some practical pointers to get through
difficult times: ‘It will help [your baby] to know
that you are getting in tune with her feelings, if
you can tell her in words what you think she is
feeling, and what you are trying out to help her.
Your tone of voice tells her more than the words.
Putting it into words helps you feel there is some
limit to what is going on between you. It is no
longer endless misery.’
“Finding your way with your baby”. Dilys Daws
and Alexandra de Rementaria. Routledge, 2015.
page 6
In the news...
...snips and clips about babies, breastfeeding and more
Smile, please! Dental researchers looked at the oral health data of a cohort of babies tracked from birth to age five years - and discovered that the longer the breastfeeding, the better the teeth.
Specifically, the researchers examined the incidence of malocclusion - imperfect or problematic positioning of the teeth. The best teeth were seen in children who had breastfed exclusively to six months, and they did better than children who were breastfed for shorter times, or alongside formula feeding, and alongside dummy use.
For more information, see Exclusive Breastfeeding and Risk of Dental Malocclusion, doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-3276
New videos from Baby FriendlyIt’s just four minutes long, but this brand new video Meeting baby for the first time explains the theory behind the benefits of skin-to-skin contact for all babies and shows how mothers and babies (and fathers, too) can enjoy it as a basis not just for early breastfeeding, but as a great start to close, loving relationships as well.
Intended mainly for healthcare professionals who want to explain skin -to -skin to pregnant and new mums, the video will also be useful for peer supporters to share with mothers... in fact, anyone who likes seeing happy mothers and babies getting to know each other will enjoy it. Watch it on You Tube - put ‘Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative: Meeting baby for the first time’ in the search box.
Q - Why is the Baby Café only for mothers who
breastfeed? A - The Baby Café is a group whose main focus
is supporting breastfeeding mothers, it’s true.
This is because mothers can often struggle to get
breastfeeding going and to continue breastfeeding,
and being with other breastfeeding mothers can
really help. In addition, Baby Cafés often have
trained peer supporters to listen and share good
information plus a healthcare professional working
alongside them, so anyone needing more help can
find it on the spot. Mothers who are breastfeeding,
or thinking about it, know the Baby Café is a
safe place to ask questions - no matter how big
or small. Mothers are welcome however they are
breastfeeding - using expressed breastmilk, or
using formula alongside breastfeeding, too. It’s
also for anyone not breastfeeding at present, but
wanting to know more about it.
Q - But isn’t formula just as good for babies these
days? Surely mothers struggling with breastfeeding
should be encouraged to switch to the bottle?
A - There are important differences between
formula and breastmilk. For example, formula is
made from cow’s milk, and it doesn’t offer the
health protection of breastfeeding. If a mother
has problems breastfeeding, then it should be up
to her whether she uses formula or not - no one
should judge her one way or the other. We do
know, though, that for some mothers, breastfeeding
is something they really want to do. Often, the
help and support they find at the Baby Café
enables them to continue breastfeeding - not
because of anyone telling them to do it, but
because they find solutions and the confidence
they need.
Q - My friend’s pregnant and she is not sure she
wants to breastfeed or not. If she comes along to
the Baby Café, she’s a bit worried people will put
pressure on her. A - Lots of women are just not sure about
breastfeeding. Maybe it is something that’s just
not been done in their family before, or they
have worries about what to wear, and where to
do it. They don’t want to commit to doing it until
the baby is actually born. No one will put
pressure on your friend. Peer supporters at the
Baby Café are trained to listen, not to judge, and if your friend has questions, they will do their best to help. Seeing mothers breastfeeding their babies comfortably and in a relaxed setting will help your friend see if it’s something she thinks she might be able to do.
Q - My sister is having huge problems breastfeeding, and she is scared to come along in case everyone there is f inding it all really easy, and she worries they’ll think she’s a bad mother, not managing to breastfeed. What can I say to explain it’s not like that?A - Some mothers do feel afraid that everyone else will be organised and sorted - it goes to show that being a new mother is an emotional time. Tell your sister that plenty of other mothers will have been in the same situation as her, and they will understand exactly what she’s going through, and the peer supporters and breastfeeding counsellors involved in the Baby Café know it can be difficult. It’s a big myth that everyone who trains to help other mothers has breastfed problem-free.
Q&A...
page 7
...some ideas on how to answer those tricky questions!
Baby Café report:
DES449
Baby Café News is published quarterly by NCT.We welcome contributions to Baby Café News.
Editor: Heather WelfordGraphic design: NCT Design Team
Baby Café News is published by NCT, Alexandra House, Oldham Terrace, London, W3 6NH
© 2015 NCT Baby Café is a trading name of The National Childbirth Trust Limited company registered in England and Wales: 2370573 Registered address: Alexandra House, Oldham Terrace, London, W3 6NH
Registered charity in England and Wales: 801395 and Scotland: SC041592
The researchers carried out a total of 36
in-depth interviews and five focus groups
with users of eight Baby Cafés in the UK.
Many women felt that they had been given
unrealistic expectations of breastfeeding by
professionals keen to promote the benefits.
Mothers valued the combination of expert
professional and peer support provided by
Baby Café services.
The study provides evidence for the benefits
of social support, alongside reassurance
and guidance from skilled practitioners, to
help women to overcome difficulties and
find confidence in their own abilities to
achieve their feeding goals.
Mothers expressed feelings of pressure,
guilt and blame regarding their feeding
experiences, and reported conflicting
advice and varying levels of support from
health professionals, friends and family.
Many of the women were initially
anxious about attending a group
situation and unsure of what to expect.
Once they had made the initial effort
mothers often felt that the Baby Café
provided a supportive environment.
Further work is needed to ensure that
services such as Baby Café are readily
accessible to women from all sectors of
the community.
Baby Cafés in the UK have been under
the research spotlight recently, with
an NCT team of researchers checking
out experiences by asking mothers
themselves what they think of the
support they have had. Here we list
some of their findings.
For more information, search on the
internet for ‘Fox et al. BMC Pregnancy
and Childbirth (2015) 15:147 DOI
10.1186/s12884-015-0581-5’
Breastfeeding on the webOur favourite websites for breastfeeding mothersthebabycafe.org Loads of information, facts and figuresnct.org.uk Search on ‘breastfeeding’ for information sheets, short articlesnct.org.uk/parenting/whats-your-babys-nappyThe useful ‘nappy sheet’ which tells new parents what to look for in the first week, to help check feeding’s going wellkellymom.orgUseful and comprehensive, it will answer a lot of your questions
Ring ring… Breastfeeding helpline numbersNCT Helpline 0300 330 0700National Breastfeeding Helpline 0300 100 0212Breastfeeding Network Supporterline 0300 100 0210Drugs In Breastmilk Helpline 0844 412 4665La Leche League Helpline 0845 120 2918Association of Breastfeeding Mothers Helpline 0300 330 5453
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