New Breastfeeding Support Service launched

We are launching a new Breastfeeding Support Project from 29 October 2018. The new project will be delivered by Health for All and offers practical and emotional support for families with a baby up to 6 months old, who are breastfeeding or mixed feeding (mixing breast and bottle feeding).

This new service is available across the Better Start Bradford area, and families who have a baby after 29 October 2018, and families will be entitled to three or more home visits to help with breastfeeding or mixed feeding.

Breastfeeding Support offers home visits starting within 48 hours of a mum arriving home with the baby. The service is personalised to fit around the family and other appointments and visits can be at the family home or another place of the mum’s choice. If your baby is born in Bradford Royal Infirmary you will be contacted by the hospital.

Pat McGeever, Chief Executive of Health for All, said: “We at Health for All are delighted to be joining the Better Start family in Bradford and hope to make a really positive impact on the health and wellbeing of new babies through supporting their mums and families. We all know that babies deserve the best start in life and this service will help them have that. Health for All has delivered a similar service in Leeds for 12 years, helping thousands of new mums and training valuable volunteers to provide peer support through our Bosom Buddies scheme. We hope to replicate that successful service here in Bradford. Our dedicated, trained, caring staff team will be keen to help – do get in touch. You ‘ll receive a warm welcome.”

Gill Thornton, Head of Programme, Better Start Bradford, said: “Many mums have told us that they stop breastfeeding before they want to, and that mums and dads want reliable support for breastfeeding, so we’re very excited to be delivering this new service in our area. We’re really looking forward to working with Health for All and we now have over 20 projects running to help pregnant women and families with children under four in our part of Bradford thanks to National Lottery Funding.”

Better Start Bradford is part of the National Lottery funded A Better Start programme set up by the Big Lottery Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. A Better Start works with families so they play an active part in deciding on and designing the services and support they get so they can give their babies and very young children the best possible start in life.