"It is important that mothers receive this kind of support"

My baby is exclusively breastfed. My health visitor, Shona discovered on day 14 that my baby had lost around 10% of his birth weight. Shona was very compassionate in sharing this with us, she contacted a registrar at the hospital immediately to gain a second opinion on a feeding plan she'd given us.

This plan was straight forward, allowing us to feel solution focused in making sure our baby was getting enough milk. Shona arranged to visit us again in a few days, earlier than scheduled next visit, to continue to support my baby's health.

Shona also made a referral to the infant feeding advisor team, this was done promptly and later that afternoon she had updated me with her discussion with them.

I was then also contacted on the same day by Gail from infant feeding team and she was able to make a house visit the following morning. I felt so supported and appreciative of Shona for such prompt action.

Gail attended the next morning and her warmth was felt immediately. Gail thoroughly discussed my birth and how my feeding had gone thus far. She also thoroughly checked my babies mouth to ensure no tongue tie was responsible for the lack of weight gain.

Part of our feeding plan was to "top up" breastfeeds with expressed milk in a bottle. As an already sleep deprived new mother, the volume of milk I had to express on top of breastfeeding was going to be an additional challenge to overcome in this early postnatal days.

This challenge was overcome as Gail was able to provide me with an double electric breast pump. This has changed the game for me- the positive impact of having this breast pump cannot be put into words. It has allowed me to ensure I'm producing enough milk not for my babies feeds and the "top up" feeds too. This has meant I feel a lot more confident in continuing to exclusively breastfeed. It has also had an immensely positive impact on my mental health as I'm not spending precious time sitting hand expressing but can express quickly and effectively. I couldn't have afforded to purchase my own breast pump of the same quality.

When breastfeeding is promoted and encouraged so greatly, it is important that mothers receive this kind of support to ensure they can continue.

I couldn't speak more highly of my health visitor, Shona or my infant feeding advisor, Gail in their support in my breastfeeding journey.

I'd also like to express gratitude for the free classes that are offered- baby massage, under 1s group and moving onto solid foods. I feel very privileged to be able to attend these at no cost. I'm already looking forward to attending.