Polly supported a woman’s breastfeeding journey when her babies were born – and the grateful mum has gone on to support the invaluable service.
NCT Petersfield & Liss have recently been awarded a grant of £4000 for breastfeeding support in the local area. It will be used to fund the continuing cost of a Breastfeeding Counsellor at their NCT Baby Hub every week.
Polly, the Breastfeeding Counsellor, supported a mum over 10 years with both of her babies. As administrator for a charitable foundation, this mum then approached Polly offering financial support for breastfeeding support because she had appreciated it so much. Since then the foundation has supported the branch two more times for a total of £10,000!
I can’t imagine how different my first year as a mother would have been without the NCT breastfeeding support
The mum said: “I can’t imagine how different my first year as a mother would have been without the NCT breastfeeding support that I received and the network of other mums I met through the organisation.
“It was truly invaluable to me and hopefully others will continue to be able to benefit from the support of the wonderful counsellors who give their time and knowledge to new mums.”
Polly said: ‘We are so grateful for this financial support.
“I love supporting the local mums and it is fantastic when I hear from someone who I worked with a long time ago who still appreciates the impact of my support. It’s nice to know I am making a difference.”
Parents being supported by a NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor will be offered the opportunity to be listened to without judgement and supported to make their own decisions. They can discuss options, explore what would work for the family, and share useful information.
They will continue to offer support however a baby is fed for as long as the parents require it – whether getting ready to breastfeed, establishing breastfeeding, continuing breastfeeding, expressing, mixed feeding, formula feeding, introducing solids, or stopping breastfeeding.
We asked Polly some questions about being a Breastfeeding Counsellor.
The NCT Baby Hub in Petersfield has been running for 20 years in some form of other now. We tend to see 8-12 parents come per week, mostly mums but the occasional father too. People come for months and months, forming friendships and benefiting from my support along the way.
Babies range in age from one week to nearly one year. Throughout the babies’ first year I support parents with everything from early days breastfeeding struggles like latch difficulties, nipple pain, supply questions and adjusting to life with a newborn, to questions about teething, introducing solids and returning to work as their babies grow. I find a large part of my work is helping women to learn to trust their instincts, build their parenting confidence and recognise what might be ‘normal’ for each age and stage.
The thing I love most about being a Breastfeeding Counsellor is working with incredible women. Don’t get me wrong, the babies are a gorgeous bonus, but it is the powerful and magical woman that fire my passion to support. Women are incredible.
I had my first child in Brussels, Belgium. The Brussels Childbirth Trust (at one time a branch of NCT) was running antenatal courses and I was given a huge amount of support when my firstborn struggled to breastfeed by a BCT Breastfeeding Counsellor, Susan. I will never forget the support and care that Susan was able to give me.
My baby was born just before Christmas and she spoke on the phone with me many times, visited me at home and because of her I was able to 100% breastfeed. Later that year I trained to be a BFC with them and then when I returned to the UK a few years later I trained with NCT. I will always want to provide that same support to anyone who needs it.
To find local feeding support near you, enter your postcode into the search field on this page.
You can also give our Infant Feeding Support Line a call to talk to our friendly, non-judgemental Breastfeeding Counsellors every day of the year, between 8am and midnight. Call 0300 330 0700.
There’s more information on feeding support available, from our website to local support initiatives, here.
Our antenatal and postnatal courses can help you navigate the early days of parenthood before and after you have your baby.
