Additional feeding support for new parents at King's Mill Hospital

A pilot to provide educational support around breast/chestfeeding to new parents is off to a positive start.

The Lime Green Team are a team of Health Care Support Workers dedicated to helping parents of new babies prepare, establish and maintain breast/chestfeeding, providing this care in the community and via antenatal classes.

Now, the team are offering information on the maternity ward at King’s Mill Hospital in a three-month trial which aims to provide evidence-based guidance during the early postnatal period, which is especially important in those first days.

Support for breast/chestfeeding and bottle feeding has always been offered by Midwives and Maternity Support Workers on the unit. The Lime Green Team can complement this support by offering additional educational information as well as support with positioning and attachment when required.

The changes come in response to Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) recommendations and feedback from maternity teams at Kings Mill Hospital, as part of a culture survey by the Infant Feeding Team in 2022.

The pilot, which began on 1 June 2023, aims to improve feeding information and support on the ward for all parents. The team is keen to ensure that all parents have a positive feeding experience whilst on the ward while cultivating a positive culture around infant feeding for staff working there. They are also hoping to increase breast/chest feeding rates in new parents in the local area by offering practical and emotional support during those early days on the ward, and in the first six weeks at home after the birth.

At least two members of the team will be present on the ward weekdays and one on weekends from 10.00 am – 11.00 am (excluding bank holidays). They will spend their time visiting parents on the ward to offer support and will give out their information cards to each parent they visit in case they’d like to contact them for further support in the future. During the trial, the ward team will still be the primary people to give practical feeding support while the Lime Green Team are there to offer education and tailored information for each parent.

Natalie Boxall, Specialist Midwife, Infant Feeding, said: “We are proud to be able to offer a high standard of individualised feeding support at King’s Mill Hospital, both on our maternity unit and in the community. Midwives and Midwifery Support Workers who work in both areas strive to give the best care they can and requested more input from the Infant Feeding team on the ward. We are excited to join our colleagues and offer educational information, alongside our existing support in the community and our weekly frenulotomy clinic.”

The trial was made possible partially due to funds provided by the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Charity for education on the postnatal ward.

Running until the end of August, local feeding rates and readmissions before 28 days will be monitored during the trial and women and parents will be asked for their opinion on the adapted service. This will help the team to understand the positive impact of offering this service, before evaluating the next steps if deemed successful.