Please find below a list of objections and questions that Kent families, breastfeeding specialists (Breastfeeding Counsellors and Lactation Consultants) and volunteer breastfeeding peer supporters have raised.

If and when objections and questions are satisfied or answered, we will update the website with a source for the answer.

Questions

Will dedicated Breastfeeding Groups exist in 2018?

PSBreastfeeding CIC challenged the contradictory information given in the consultation documents from

Vanessa feeds daughter Evelyn, now 2. Vanessa attended the Joy Lane group in Whitstable.

KCC. On the primary consultation document document page 7 “Baby Hubs”, “Each support session will have a health visitor present alongside peer supporters. These are re-designed clinics with integrated breastfeeding support and health promotion activities”. On the Health Visiting Services Infant Feeding Model Document page 2 “As part of the Child Health Clinic the Health Visiting Teams will provide additional breast feeding support sessions which will also be supported by Volunteer Breast feeding peer supporters”.

Answer: The response from KCC was that there will be Baby Hubs with a Health Visitor and Peer Supporter as described in the main consultation document, not breastfeeding groups.

Objections

#1 Removing open, free access to specialist Lactation Consultants

(FUTURE) Consultations will be on an appointment only basis, in response to a referral from a health professional which is based on clinical need. Initially there will be four Lactation Consultant-led clinics a week across Kent.

Soshanna and her baby Ethan in 2013, who attended Faversham St Mary's breastfeeding clinic — Soshanna and her baby Ethan in 2013, who attended Faversham St Mary’s breastfeeding clinic

PSBreastfeeding CIC currently provides 17 drop-in breastfeeding clinics across Kent each week (at least 1 per District/Borough). Each clinic has a Lactation Consultant or Breastfeeding Councillor (or both) available. No appointment is necessary, no referral is necessary, and all families are welcome at any service throughout Kent. We have made sure that each and every clinic is safe for older siblings to attend as we have received feedback in the past that this was important.

Clinics run 5 days per week and run throughout the school holidays if the Children’s Centre is open. Families are encouraged to come as many times as they feel they need or want to. Each clinic is supported by volunteer Breastfeeding Peer Supporters.

Benefits of a drop-in service (provided currently)

Families with new infants often find it more challenging getting out of the house on time…
Responsive feeding means that often babies are not hungry when we need them to be, so having the opportunity to stay longer at the clinic to wait for baby to wake up means we are better able to assess feeding.
The specialists are able to move between families to assess and support families at the best time for them without wasting time. The family receives more appropriate time from the specialist in this way.
Families receive support from volunteer breastfeeding peer supporters, specialists, Children’s Centre staff and the other families in the room. The lived experience can be so reassuring for new families.
If a family has a challenging night or a problem in the morning they can just go to see someone. They do not need to ask permission or wait for an available appointment.
No time is wasted due to cancelled or missed appointments.
In areas of greater need, we have added more specialist support in the form of an additional body in an existing clinic or by starting a new clinic in a different location.
We found that 30-45 minutes would be the average amount of time needed for an appointment. Let’s look at North Kent (Sevenoaks, Dartford and Gravesham) as an area that will share a clinic every week in the proposed model. In January 2017 there were 109 visits to a specialist clinic, in February 2017 there were 131 visits, and in March 2017 there were 127 visits. That’s over 28 appointments every week (at least 14-21 hours of clinic time).

#2 The accessibility of Baby Hubs to those with children over a certain age.

“Baby hubs” are currently aimed at families with babies up to 12 months of age and there is no mention of

Sarah feeding her son Chase, while older daughter Indie looks on. Sarah graduated as a Peer Supporter in June 2017 in Maidstone and takes her children to groups while she supports mothers.

this changing to accommodate older babies and toddlers under the new proposal. A number of families accessing the service and many of the peer supporters who volunteer are breastfeeding older babies and toddlers. Not only are the groups a fantastic way to socialise with other mothers who choose to nurse beyond babyhood, they are also a great place to get evidence based information about the continued benefits of Breastfeeding beyond 12 months of age.

Mothers who feed past a year often face discrimination and judgment for their choice, being able to meet other mums in the same situation can help them to feel normal and gain confidence that they are making a great choice for their family.
The WHO and the NHS recommend breastfeeding “up to 2 years and beyond” for as long as mum and baby are both happy, yet the proposed model by KCC completely excludes mothers who choose to breastfeed past infancy from the service.