Volunteer Jane designs card to help normalise breastfeeding – ‘The more it’s seen the less it’s noticed’

Jane has been a breastfeeding support volunteer at the Western Trust for the past eight months.

A mother of two boys herself Jane designed the Western Trust’s new ‘motivational pass it on’ card to share with breastfeeding mothers.

The card has been developed for this year’s World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 - 7). The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘Closing the Gap – Breastfeeding Support for All’.

"It's so important to normalise breastfeeding in public,” said Jane. “The more it is seen the less it is going to be noticed. It is reaching out to that mum and giving her that encouragement she needs. You don't know what she is going through. Actual cards themselves will be available during World Breastfeeding Week.”

The card aims to normalise breastfeeding by encouraging and supporting women to feed their babies out and about and to make breastfeeding more visible.

Feedback on the design of the card was sought from over 120 breastfeeding mothers, peer support volunteers and Trust staff.

Speaking of her work as a volunteer, Jane said: “The breastfeeding peer support system is a way to offer individualised and tailored support to mums and it meets them at that point whenever they are just coming out of hospital and whenever you are just home.

"It's just a way of connecting with them at what can be one of the most vulnerable times whenever all the doubts and the fears hit you and you have all the questions that you wish you would have asked in hospital.

“There's no judgement in it because it is coming from mums who have been in that place themselves recently who may have just finished their breastfeeding journey or may still be on that journey themselves.

"They get it and they are able to offer that support and that advice that's most up-to-date."

The Western Trust points out that mother-to-mother support can provide community and camaraderie, create a safe space to share experiences, seek advice, and offer support.

Support and encouragement from other mothers can be invaluable during a women’s breastfeeding journey, the Western Trust observes.

Jane concurs: "There are many different ways to support mums within the breastfeeding peer-support. You can get involved with the text or the phone service and check in on the mums.

"You can come to breastfeeding support groups which is an amazing way just to get that face-to-face and really build relationships with one another and then there is also bringing back coming into the hospitals to visit the mums just post-birth.

"It really is such an invaluable service and the training and support that you receive within the Western Trust is amazing. You really are such a valued member of a wider team.”

For more information on the events planned for World Breastfeeding Week and the support available to all expectant and breastfeeding women including the peer support service visit: https://westerntrust.hscni.net/service/health-visiting/infant-feeding

Altnagelvin’s Crossroads Restaurant closed this weekend for essential maintenance