World Breastfeeding Week: 1-7 August

The 2023 theme, ‘Enabling breastfeeding: Making a difference for working parents’, highlights the fact that workplace challenges remain the most common reason worldwide for women to never breastfeed or to stop breastfeeding earlier than recommended.

What happens in your baby’s first years has a big effect on how healthy he or she will be in the future. Breast milk gives your baby all the nutrients he or she needs for around the first six months of life. Your milk helps to protect your baby from infections and other diseases, and as a mum, it also reduces your chances of getting some illnesses later in life.

Breastfeeding also helps you and your baby to get closer – physically and emotionally. So while you’re feeding your baby, the bond between you grows stronger. If you or someone you know has questions about breastfeeding, there’s lots of help available.

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Health Visiting team offers a range of support, including advice on positioning, attachment, hand expressing and assisting you and your family to continue to breastfeed for as long as planned. If problems occur, your health visitor can refer you to our Specialist Breast Feeding team. Find out more about the team here: https://bit.ly/3q3eoOh

Many mums worry that their babies are not getting enough milk. There are some signs that breastfeeding is going well, which can help to reassure parents. You can also discuss any worries with your health visiting team, who can offer support at home.