The infant feeding team is a service dedicated to supporting and promoting breastfeeding and safe formula feeding practices in line with UNICEF’s Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI).
Breastfeeding is an important public health issue and as such the Government recognises that breast milk is the best form of nutrition for infants and supports breastfeeding through its Healthy Child Programme.
Aim:
The infant feeding team is working closely with the health visiting teams and early years health and wellbeing service to make breastfeeding the norm, by every child getting the best start in life and to ensure a supportive environment in which all parents make a positive choice and are enabled to breastfeed for longer.
How do we do this?
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We provide breastfeeding training to staff for enable them to have the knowledge and skills to assess and support breastfeeding. We support staff to develop a plan of care for women experiencing breastfeeding difficulties.
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We work closely with health visiting teams to show the proportion of babies being breastfed at 6-8 weeks to evidence this with data of at least 95 percent coverage each quarter as part of the Department of Health Vital Signs Monitoring Returns.
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We provide and co-ordinate a volunteer programme by training mothers who have breastfed to support new mothers to breastfeed, within a local setting. Once trained, colleagues in the children’s centres will support the volunteers in their new roles, after receiving guidance from the breastfeeding peer support programme lead.
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We monitor and audit the service quarterly by interviewing service users, staff, training and policies in line with the Baby Friendly Initiative Audit Tool.
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We ensure that staff and the early years health and wellbeing service comply with the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes. No advertising of breast milk substitutes, teats or dummies are permitted within the facility in line with the breastfeeding policy.
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External expertise and point of contact for staff with queries regarding breast or bottle feeding.
