Lothian Breastfeeding Buddies, part of our Scottish Breastfeeding Peer Support service, are expanding their provision of services to another area of Lothian. Zoe (far right) from the team explains more about this exciting new service.
West Lothian is a huge council area next to Edinburgh City. Although parents from the area were always warmly welcomed at Lothian Breastfeeding Buddies (part of NCT Edinburgh) drop-in services and online, we were not initially set up to offer peer support in that area.
Parents were travelling huge distances from West Lothian to access Lothian Breastfeeding Buddies and we wanted to do something to make it easier for them to get support. So we built on good existing relationships with local NHS health improvement teams to expand to offer support to West Lothian.
In early October, a meeting took place in which we heard the hugely exciting news that funding for a West Lothian drop-in group was confirmed. A local, accessible well-known venue was identified as a group location, a community room at Kidz n Kin.
Kidz n Kin already works alongside NHS Lothian through the health improvement team and offers support and classes for local parents including pandemic parents, Dadz, weaning and cooking classes, as well as hosting a food pantry.
They also have fantastic eco credentials and a play café which only uses good quality, preloved equipment. They only thing they were missing was breastfeeding support, which we could provide.
So, on Tuesday 9 November at 10am, Lothian Breastfeeding Buddies opened the new group, which we’re delighted to say was fully booked. It will continue to run every Tuesday. To join us, click here and select in-person breastfeeding peer support.
Our Breastfeeding Counsellors provide a listening ear on our Infant Feeding Support Line from 8am-midnight every day of the year. Call 0300 330 0700 (option 1).
We have lots of articles on our website to support you, however you’re feeding your baby. Take a look here.
Have you had a look at your local NCT branch Facebook page to find out what activities and groups are happening in your area? It’s a great way to meet other local parents. You can also put your postcode into the search field on this page.
