As part of breastfeeding awareness week, 21-27 June, mother-to-mother volunteer breastfeeding supporters from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT) will be visiting Mothercare stores in the area to promote breastfeeding and offer support to new and expectant mums.

Mother-to-mother breastfeeding supporters, who help new mothers begin to breastfeed when they are on the maternity ward at Stoke Mandeville hospital, recognise the anxieties some women face when they need to breastfeed whilst they are out and about. They have been visiting local café owners in Wycombe, Aylesbury, Amersham and Chesham to talk to them about how they can make mums feel comfortable when they need to breastfeed their baby whilst they are out having a coffee or something to eat. To show their support many will be displaying a ‘breastfeeding welcome’ sticker and will have a staff poster ‘tips for welcoming a breastfeeding mother’.

Chris Sparks, breastfeeding co-ordinator at BHT, said, “Sometimes the most challenging thing about breastfeeding is wanting to go out for a coffee but not knowing how people will respond to you if you need to feed your baby whilst you are out. It is really encouraging that so many local cafés have shown their support and we have started to put together a list of those displaying the ‘breastfeeding welcome’ sticker. Although women have a right to breastfeed whenever and wherever they need to, many will appreciate knowing that there is a café close by that welcomes them.

The mother-to-mother supporters will be promoting breastfeeding, answering questions and handing out goodies, including a list of participating cafes, at the following Mothercare stores during the week:

Mothercare Wycombe – Saturday 26 June 11am-2pm

Mothercare Aylesbury – Thursday 24 and Friday 25 June 11am-2pm

If you are a local café that would like to know how you can support breastfeeding mothers, please contact Chris Sparks on 01296 315799.

ENDS

For further information, contact the communications team on 01494 734959 or at communications@buckshosp.nhs.uk.

Note to editors

Breastfeeding facts

1. The  main  aims of the national breastfeeding awareness week are to:
• raise  awareness of the health benefits of breastfeeding,
•  increase social  acceptance of breastfeeding 
• promote support for breastfeeding.

2. Peer supporters work on the maternity ward at Stoke Mandeville alongside the midwives to give mother to mother support with breastfeeding.

3. Breast milk gives babies all the nutrients they need for the first six months of life and helps protect them from infection and diseases. It also reduces mothers' chances of getting certain diseases later in life.

4. Local support for breastfeeding is available from Stoke Mandeville and Wycombe hospital breastfeeding clinics and a number of community venues throughout Bucks please see your health visitor for details.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

• Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust provide a wide range of high quality acute and community services from three acute hospital sites in Amersham, Stoke Mandeville and Wycombe, five community hospitals at Thame, Marlow, Buckingham, Chalfonts and Gerrards Cross and Waterside, and a number of community sites across the county. Details of these can be found here: http://www.buckinghamshirehospitals.nhs.uk/community-health-services.htm,

• Specialist services include our regional dermatology, allergy and skin cancer centre, burns care and plastics sub-regional centre, cardiac services and the National Spinal Injuries Centre

• More than 6,000 staff serve residents across Buckinghamshire, Thame (Oxfordshire), Tring (Hertfordshire) and Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) - a combined population of 500,000. It serves a much larger population, 1.5m, for burns and plastic services and 14m for spinal injuries

• On 1 April 2010 Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust became the new partner to Community Health Buckinghamshire