Good afternoon,
I hope this message finds you well. I’m writing to share the fantastic news that the after a successful pilot year offering 24/7 support via telephone, the National Breastfeeding Helpline is launching overnight social media support from June 1st.
We recognise the huge impact 24 hour availability has on our callers – with 99% saying they found it helpful to call overnight – and the challenges that come with night time parenting. For those who prefer to type, the same high quality support is now accessible through our social media channels on Facebook and Instagram every night of the year.
The helpline is run by staff and volunteers of The Breastfeeding Network in partnership with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers in line with NICE standards, and funded by the Department for Health and Social Care and Scottish Government. For the last year, the National Breastfeeding Helpline has operated round-the-clock, for 365 days of the year. The service is run by parents with lived breastfeeding experience and extensive, externally validated level 3 training. They support callers through a wide range of infant feeding decisions including supporting with latching, answering questions about normal infant feeding behaviour, stopping breastfeeding or combination feeding.
Most importantly, they listen without judgement, are available when needed and for as long as they are needed via telephone, social media, webchat and voicemail. We also offer services in multiple community languages including Welsh, Polish, Sylheti and Bengali. An independent evaluation highlighted just how well-regarded the service is and that it is serving families with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Over a third of callers are repeat users and over 93% would ‘definitely recommend the service to a friend’. Although many of our callers are seeking support to stop breastfeeding, 89% felt more confident to continue to breastfeeding after calling us.
We know how valuable your role is in supporting families and we’d be so grateful if you could continue signposting to us — whether that’s during appointments, through your newsletters, or via local community boards. Every mention helps ensure mums and families know there’s someone available to support them, especially during evenings or weekends when other services may be closed. To make that even easier, we’ve attached a set of free resources including downloadable posters you can display in clinics, waiting rooms, community spaces, or share digitally in your networks.
If you’d like printed materials or have any feedback on how we can better support you or the families you serve, just let us know – we’d love to help.
Printed materials are also available online at www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/shop
Warm wishes,
Beth Harrison-Little
NBH@Night Manager
Core hours: Mon-Fri 9am-3pm
Mobile number: 07902788726 or contact me for free on MS Teams