Breastfeeding counsellors in Northern Ireland have received another year’s worth of funding for their popular online drop in and podcast. Find out more.
Just before the pandemic began, in February 2020, NCT NI secured funding for a new breastfeeding support group from the Public Health Agency (PHA). However, a few weeks later, the country went into lockdown with the rest of the UK.
We’ve watched their journey to become confident women supporting other mums
The drop in sessions were force to start online instead of in person, but it was a move that proved to work really well. As Kate Lynn, one of the breastfeeding counsellors, says, it meant mums were able to “jump on” and join in even if their babies were a few days old.
Two years later, the popular online sessions are still running on Sunday afternoons and the drop in has just secured funding for the next financial year.
The breastfeeding counsellors who run the sessions are in the picture above, and from left to right are: Caoimhe, Heidi, Hazel, Katy and Máire.
All mums of young babies are welcome, and many come regularly. “It’s lovely to see relationships develop between mums,” Kate says. “We’re very privileged as we’ve watched their journey from that initial nervousness to confident women supporting other mums.”
They’ve also put together a podcast series called NCT NI presents Boobcast, which has had over 700 listens so far! You can find it on all podcast platforms.
Each session has two breastfeeding counsellors, so if anyone wants to speak privately to them in a breakout room they can. If you’d like to join in a session, take a look at the NCT Belfast Facebook page and let them know. You’ll be sent a Zoom link to join before the session.
In the future, the breastfeeding counsellors are planning a tour of breastfeeding drop in sessions across Northern Ireland.
If you’re in need of feeding support, our Infant Feeding Support line is open every single day of the year, from 8am to midnight. Just call 0300 330 0700 and select option 1.
We’ve also got lots of information on feeding on our website – take a look here.
