MIDWIVES from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are appealing for volunteers to help support women to breastfeed.
Potential volunteers are invited to a meet-and-greet session on Thursday (January 19) at 10.30am in the Charles Hastings Education Centre at Worcestershire Royal.
Specialist midwives believe breastfeeding is the best start to life for babies and their mothers. Evidence shows it benefits the health and emotional well-being of mothers and their babies, both in the short and long term.
Friendly volunteers from all over Worcestershire are invited to join a training programme to learn how to support pregnant women and new mothers.
The volunteer role will involve 15 to 20 hours of free training with specialist midwives, upon clearance of the standard Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
Former volunteer Malin Lindberg said: “I’m very grateful for the support which was – and still is – given to me. I would encourage anyone to at least go to the meet-and-greet session and see if it is for you or not.
Specialist midwife and infant feeding advisor, Becky Davenport said: “Getting breastfeeding off to a good start can be difficult. By starting this network of trained volunteers, we will be able to offer new mums the help they need, when they need it.
Both Becky and Caroline Thunder, the hospital’s specialist infant feeding midwives, will be on hand to answer questions and reveal more about the training sessions.
E-mail [email protected] or [email protected] for more.
