Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a natural way to feed your baby and helps create a special bond. Understanding what to expect and how your breast milk supports your baby's growth can help you feel more confident.

There are lots of benefits to breastfeeding your baby:

Tailored nutrition: Breast milk is uniquely designed to meet your baby's changing needs as they grow, providing perfectly balanced nutrition for the first six months of their life and beyond.
Protects health: Breast milk also protects your baby from certain infections, illnesses and helps improve their long-term health - like reducing the chance of obesity as they get older. Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), childhood diabetes and leukaemia.
For mum's health: Breastfeeding lowers the risk of some illnesses like breast cancer, ovarian cancer and heart disease. It also helps your body recover after giving birth and uses about 500 calories a day.
Bonding with your baby: Breastfeeding is a lovely way to feel close and strengthen the bond with your baby. Breastfeeding also releases a hormone called oxytocin that helps you feel calm and connected to your baby

Breastfeeding helps protect our environment as there is no packaging or transport costs, and....breast milk is free and always ready when your baby needs it!

Find out more NHS: Benefits of breastfeeding.

It is recommended that babies are exclusively breastfed (given nothing but breast milk) for around the first 6 months of life. Any amount of breast milk has a positive effect. The longer you breastfeed, the longer the protection lasts and the greater the benefits.

After that, giving your baby breast milk alongside solid foods for as long as you and your baby want will help them grow and develop healthily.

Learning about breastfeeding during pregnancy should help you feel more confident and understand how to avoid or solve common breastfeeding problems. We really encourage you to come to one of our antenatal breastfeeding workshops and talk to your midwives during your pregnancy about feeding your baby.

Breastfeeding information and support

Breastfeeding is a skill that takes time to get the hang of. Lots of mums wonder if their baby's feeding well and getting enough - especially in the first few days. But once you've mastered it, you'll probably find it's the easiest and most satisfying way to feed your baby.

Remember, it can take a while to feel confident about breastfeeding, but you're not alone.

Got a breastfeeding question?

If you have any breastfeeding worries or concerns, the best thing to do is speak to your midwife or health visitor, or pop along to one of our Infant feeding support groups.

The NHS Start for Life website offers a lot of information and advice which might help answer any questions you have about breastfeeding.

Chat to the NHS: Breastfeeding chatbot on Amazon Alexa (breastfeeding chatbot), Facebook Messenger (breastfeeding chatbot) or Google Home for fast, friendly, trusted NHS advice anytime, day or night.

The breastfeeding network have a huge range of information to help answer any question you might have around breastfeeding.

The Association of breastfeeding mothers (ABM) has a library of information available for mum's and any other family member supporting with breastfeeding.

Local breastfeeding support

Infant Feeding Support Groups

Our Infant feeding support groups are friendly, drop-in sessions held at different locations across County Durham. They're a great place for you to meet other breastfeeding mums, share experiences, and find support in a relaxed and welcoming environment. Whether you're looking for help with breastfeeding challenges or just want to connect with others, we're here for you.

You're welcome to come on your own, with your baby, or bring older siblings along. Partners, dads, and other family members are also encouraged to join - they're an important part of your breastfeeding journey too.

If you're pregnant, we'd love for you to join us. It's a great opportunity to learn about breastfeeding, meet the team, and get to know the group. Many mums find that becoming part of the group during pregnancy helps them feel more confident and supported once their baby arrives.

The groups run every day of the week at different Family Hubs around County Durham and are free to attend. There is no need to book - families are very welcome to just drop in to any of the groups. Find more information, including locations and session times of our Infant feeding support groups.

Family Hubs - Breastfeeding - video transcript (PDF, 87 KB)

Breastfeeding peer support service

Our team of breastfeeding peer supporters provide families with breastfeeding support, infant nutrition advice and emotional support through a proactive calls service and breastfeeding support groups. Peer supporters are women who breastfed their own baby (or are still breastfeeding), and would like to support you and your baby to enjoy breastfeeding. They are trained to offer feeding support to parents before and after giving birth. They include:

Family Peer Supporters who are employed by the NHS and specialise in infant feeding. They are fully qualified to run groups, provide telephone support and carry out home visits as part of their work.
Volunteer Peer Supporters who work closely with the NHS infant feeding team to support you with breastfeeding.

Peer supporters can offer breastfeeding information and support in a variety of settings, such as antenatal sessions, in your home, at clinics and at infant feeding support groups.

Breastfeeding friendly venues scheme

Breastfeeding is great for mums, babies, and the environment, but many women feel nervous about breastfeeding out and about, and this can mean they choose not to breastfeed or that they stop breastfeeding before they want to.

Our breastfeeding friendly scheme recognises public places across County Durham which provide a comfortable, welcoming environment for breastfeeding mothers, with good facilities and support. By joining this scheme, cafés, restaurants, leisure centres, and community venues show their commitment to creating a welcoming and supportive environment for breastfeeding mums. Participating venues display a 'breastfeeding friendly' window sticker, making them easy to recognise. Staff at these venues have also attended a breastfeeding awareness session to ensure they understand and support the needs of breastfeeding families.

See local breastfeeding friendly venues at breastfeeding friendly scheme

Early latch support (appointment only)

We know that as a new mum you might struggle with breastfeeding. Our early latch support appointments are for babies aged between 10 days and 6 weeks, and will give you hints and tips to help you breastfeed successfully.

During the appointment we will ask you questions about how your baby, such as how many wet nappies they have a day, how many times are they feeding and, with your permission, we would like to watch you breastfeed your baby (we might call this a breastfeeding assessment). This will help us to understand whether your baby is getting enough milk to grow healthily and help you to continue to breastfeed your baby.

Family Hubs - Early Latch - video transcript (PDF, 80 KB)

Appointments are available at the following Family Hubs and can be booked with your health visitor.

Swipe to see full table

Hub	Day	Time
Ferryhill Family Hub	Tuesdays	Between 9.30am and 12.30pm
Stanley Family Hub	Thursdays	Between 10.00am and 1.00pm
Easington Family Hub	Fridays	Between 10.00am and 1.00pm

Other support available

If you have any questions or concerns about breastfeeding, support is available:

ask your midwife, health visitor or GP
check the leaflets in your Badger Notes (electronic maternity notes) for information about colostrum collection in the antenatal period and support with this
your local Family Hub can offer support and advice on breastfeeding - Find out what's on at your nearest Family Hub
County Durham Infant Feeding on Facebook has lots of hints and tips, as well as information about groups to support you.

National breastfeeding helplines:

National Breastfeeding Helpline - 0300 100 0212
National Childbirth Trust (NCT) helpline - 0300 330 0700
La Leche League GB helpline - 0345 120 2918
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers - 0300 330 5453

Breastfeeding websites:

Contact Public Health

Email publichealth@durham.gov.uk
Telephone 03000 264 109

Related information

The County Durham Breastfeeding Friendly Scheme