Queenie79 Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 1-7th August is world breastfeeding week.www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org/Anyone fancy doing anything to promote/celebrate it? The government have stopped funding for the national breastfeeding awareness week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveh Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 What do you suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mag Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 In my breast feeding days (a looong time ago) I found some cafes and public places more breast feeding friendly than others. Maybe Shetlink mums could post any positive experiences about Shetland establishments that welcome breast feeding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shetlandpeat Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 The milk bank should be promoted too. My two were breast fed to start, when they moved over to formula the sick and runs started, as they say breast can be best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khitajrah Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 This thread might also be of interest. Do you have any ideas Queenie? I might consider helping out with something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GypsyScy Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 I had one that was early so was both breast and bottle fed and the next was just breast. When I breastfed I never considered what anyone else thought, all that mattered was getting the wee one fed! Maybe be 'offensive' to some but a screaming infant is often more distressing,I learned to feed anywhere in public discreetly, with the use of suitable clothes and a blanket, it was never really an issue and never had negative comments but usually supportive, that was in both Shetland and Ireland. Growing up breastfeeding was something that was almost treated like a dirty secret, a hidden society, but my teenage and young adult years before becoming a mum was spent around women who just fed on demand no matter where they were or who they were with, it was a natural action and reaction. It works for some and doesn't for others but it's up to mums and health visitors to normalise it and reclaim the right for a child to be fed wherever and whenever!! Just my opinion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ Posted May 28, 2011 Report Share Posted May 28, 2011 Still laugh when remembering coming up here and some of the kids asking me what I was doing. The other Mums turned RED, I just asked if they'd had qualps or ketlins at home and how did their mum's feed them? Well that's what I was doing, because I'm too lazy for all the hassle of bottles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groilick Posted May 28, 2011 Report Share Posted May 28, 2011 Hit wid be aafil fine tae hae a paap tae sook on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenie79 Posted May 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 No real ideas yet, just mulling it over in my head. I would say in my experience I've seen very few breastfed babies in public. You definitely have to make your own choice but I wonder if more people would BF with more support available. How about a mass sit and feed outside the town hall... weather permitting! Not that my peerie one would oblige, at 9 months old he's too interested in whats happening to feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khitajrah Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 Um, no can do with the mass sit and feed. I fed the last one for nearly 2 years and I don't plan on starting up with him again since he stopped about 4 months ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsleysoup Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 I don't know if you are aware of the Infant Feeding support groups set up and running, mainly in Lerwick, but there's one in Aith. A group called Nurture Shetland is in the process of being set up - its a group of mums who have been trained by the Breastfeeding Network, working with NHS Shetland the the Gilbert Bain midwives, so they can offer support and information to breastfeeding mums. There's also me, a trained breastfeeding counsellor - I work on the National Breastfeeding helpline too. I know we chatted about Breastfeeding Awareness week, the UK one isn't officially happening due to cuts in funding. I didn't make the last meeting so I don't know if anything was talked about. I know we will be wanting to train up more mums in the near future. If anyone is interested I'll check who best to contact and let you know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodeyn Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 im absolutely terrified at the thought of attempting to breastfeed again. Currently 21 week pregnant with my third child i would rather give birth than breastfeed, however i want the best beginnings for my baby as i did before so i will give it my bet shot. I fed my last child for 16 weeks of what i can only describe as pure hell. I suffered from nipple blanching throughout and nobody on the island had heard of or seen it before, so i relied on the help of breastfeeding advisors over the phone which is totally infuriating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 I was SOOO lucky, I had help from someone else's health visitor. My own health visitor was useless, her alternate was pro bottle and tried to get me to give the bairn a dummy.If it hadn't been the fact that she'd seen me struggling, I'd never have learnt to disregard all the sharn they'd told me in the Mattie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenie79 Posted May 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 I don't know if you are aware of the Infant Feeding support groups set up and running, mainly in Lerwick, but there's one in Aith. A group called Nurture Shetland is in the process of being set up - its a group of mums who have been trained by the Breastfeeding Network, working with NHS Shetland the the Gilbert Bain midwives, so they can offer support and information to breastfeeding mums. There's also me, a trained breastfeeding counsellor - I work on the National Breastfeeding helpline too. I know we chatted about Breastfeeding Awareness week, the UK one isn't officially happening due to cuts in funding. I didn't make the last meeting so I don't know if anything was talked about. I know we will be wanting to train up more mums in the near future. If anyone is interested I'll check who best to contact and let you know I'm so pleased to hear this, I had no idea there was a breastfeeding counsellor! Seeing as the UK based one is being cut then August would be a great idea to promote what you've said. I knew there was a support group but had no idea it was in Aith too. I would absolutely love to trsin to be a support giver, and Nurture Shetland is a lovely name! I've been thinking about seeing if there was anyone who would be willing to set up a sling library with me. I don't know if there are many closet "baby wearers" out there. Something like www.slingmeet.co.uk Is that something that nurture shetland might be interested in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsleysoup Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Whether or not Nurture Shetland would promote baby wearing and slings would depend entirely on if we decide to be associated with BFN or not. BFN have a very strict code of practice and absolutely no product endorsement is allowed, even if in the case of slings they actually beneficial to nursing. At BFN groups Nestle products are banned too. There's been a fair bit of discussion about what Nurture Shetland should be aiming for, and it was decided that we need to focus on Bfing, as we can access health funding, and TBH we didn't want to spread ourselves too thin. But there's no reason why a baby wearing group couldn't be set up along the lines of one I was on in the Highlands - it was on a yahoo board. It may be possible to link up a baby wearing meet up with the drop ins - I can mention it next time I see the others. I'm not sure what's going on with the Aith drop in. I notice its not on our next rota. We currently need to have a health professional at drop ins, so we have to co ordinate a HV or MW with a volunteer and a venue and availability. We have no one in Aith so maybe it was getting too tricky. I've just moved house so am a bit out of the loop just now. I'm pretty sure we will have a presence at some of the shows this summer - last year we recruited our first wave of mums and we are wanting to train more women to spread a support network throughout Shetland. Some mums may want to go on for further counsellor training too. You can train with any of the UK BFing organisations, though some are easier than others for remote learning i trained with the The Association Of Breastfeeding Mothers http://abm.me.uk/training-association-breastfeeding-mothers-1 I did all my training from home so it was easy to fit in with small kids and living well away from main population centres. I am the only breastfeeding counsellor here as far as I know. I've only been on Shetland for a year and I do claim the 'most northerly BFC' title I'm still waiting on a reply to an email to check who is the best person to contact with regards to training. I'll post it when i know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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