North West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network

6 days ago

As National Breast Feefing week draws to a close here is a fantastic story from one our PAG members. As well as expressing enough milk for her own premature baby & and then breast feeding him once home Laura also donated an incredible 18 litres to the local milk bank!

“After delivering at 32+2 weeks which was a complete shock, I was delighted when I was asked by the midwife in the delivery room what my intention had been regarding feeding and I was thrilled that breastfeeding was still a potential option for me, knowing that my son was requiring neonatal care.

Within a couple of hours of returning to the ward, a midwife came to assist me with hand expressing and although painstakingly slow I felt very lucky that my body was responding and the 1ml syringe had a few precious drops in it. Over the next few days this amount slowly increased and I became friends with the double yellow breast pump, the noise of which will never be forgotten!

The neonatal nurses were fantastic supporting me and celebrating with me my success as the amount I was able to express gradually increased and I was able to feel very proud with every single gram my son gained. After many attempts and much support and guidance, when I finally successfully managed to get my son to latch, I was cheered on by several neonatal nurses, it really was a moment I wont forget.

I continued to express and was informed by one of the neonatal nurses that I could donate my increasing collection of excess breast milk to the Northwest Human Milk Bank and so I enquired once my son was discharged home and soon became a donor. I felt it was my way of being able to give something back after the excellent care we had received and hoped it would help to get some other tiny babies big and strong too. In total I donated 18 Litres over 9 months. “ ... See MoreSee Less

7 days ago

FREE MATERIALS all month as we celebrate Breastfeeding Awareness 💙 Print these at www.nationalperinatal.org/feeding_our_babies/ and share them with your community.

Are you interested in making translations to help spread support? Message us!

#WBW2020 #WorldBreastfeedingWeek #breastmilk #bestmilk #humanmilkforhumanbabies ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago

National Breast Feeding Week 1-7th August.

Establishing breast feeding with a pre-term baby isn’t always easy but there are so many advantages. Here is a lovely positive quote from a mum of 26 week twins which shows sometimes the unexpected can be achieved with support & determination.

"Our girls were born at 26+1 due to cord flow problems, and I was worried that I'd never breastfeed because of their prematurity. Thankfully the NICU nurses told me otherwise!

I expressed for 12 weeks before they started to feed directly, then established daytime feeds first. I had support from the NICU nurses, as well as online support from a specialist twin breastfeeding Facebook group and a local IBCLC.

By the time we left hospital at 18 weeks old, the girls were fully breastfed despite coming home on oxygen.

We fed until the girls were 2yrs 9mths, and that time encompassed multiple hospital admissions and intensive care stays for one twin, and starting nursery for the other twin." ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago

Covid-19 could significantly impact on maternal mental health. We encourage all mothers who are #BreastfeedingInLockdown to reach out - contact your midwife, health visitor or GP to access support and visit healthierlsc.co.uk/BetterBirths/YourMentalHealth for more information.#WBW2020 ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

Timeline PhotosWe know it can be hard to explain to friends what it's like to be in neonatal care. For #WorldFriendshipDay what advice would you give to someone whose friend has just had a baby born premature or poorly? ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

So lovely to see that Spoons have helped yet another mummy during this difficult time. 👏Our aim is to support parents through their journey from admission to the neonatal unit and beyond. Families in neonatal care have been hit hard by the COVID crisis and helping parents with travel costs is just one way we've been able to support. Thanks to this mummy for sharing her feedback about our support.
If you would like to help us support more families in neonatal care find out how you can get involved
bit.ly/3hQB1LI ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

Shared on behalf of the North West Coast Clinical Network for Perinatal Mental Health

Pregnancy and the first year after having had a baby is a really important time for your mental health. Your NHS care providers should be considering your emotional wellbeing as well as your physical health. We want to know what your experiences of being asked about your emotional wellbeing mental health during this time have been like. If you are currently pregnant or have had a baby in the past 12 months in Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire or South Cumbria, please follow the link to complete this short survey - it’s takes less than 5 minutes to complete and all responses are completely anonymous.
bit.ly/3jp9D9d ... See MoreSee Less