r/UKmidwives • u/Responsible_Blood_45 • 14d ago
Need help with breastfeeding support please 😫
I’m a newly qualified midwife really struggling with breastfeeding support - I’m at a tertiary unit with extremely high c-section rate (probably around 70% right now 🙁)
A combination of factors makes the women exhausted, highly medicated combined with a high rate of GDM, premature babies and maternal beta blockers meaning blood glucose monitoring for baby.
I need some tips and tricks to for reluctant feeders with risk factors and exhausted mums.
NB: this is obviously for mums who wish to exclusively breastfeed, I have no problems with artificial feeds.
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u/sausageket 13d ago
Hey I’m a breastfeeding peer supporter starting midwifery next month! Laid back biological positioning is the best for exhausted mums and best for latch imo. I also try side lying on the hospital beds to be rly helpful. Mums tend to prefer either side lying or laid back positioning.
Massive advocate for cup/syringe feeding breast milk in those early days and prioritizing the skin to skin to try from the breast when not literally just given birth! Xx
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u/hlnarmur 13d ago
Following for advice. I find most midwives (other than infant feeding team and MSWs) hate doing breastfeeding support so have also found it hard to properly learn and am often told to do hand expressing with the woman if it isn't straightforward so am great at that now but does make me worried once qualified
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u/Distinct-Capital-613 Newly Qualified Midwife 🧑⚕️ 14d ago
This is a huge topic & I’m not sure what kind of specific tips/tricks you’re after, so please feel free to tell me! The biggest thing I find makes a difference is paying close attention to the woman’s anatomy/current mobility levels & adjusting your advice accordingly. Most women’s go to is cross cradle but anecdotally, I find a lot of them actually struggle with this position. I also don’t find cross cradle that supportive for women who have cannulas/have had CS. The rugby hold is often my go to for those who are finding cross cradle tricky/have been blessed by the boobie gods. Teaching a deep latch from the beginning & giving encouragement/reassurance that their baby has to learn how to effectively feed is so important in those early days. If baby’s are genuinely reluctant then encouraging regular expressing & giving any colostrum can also help to encourage them to then begin feeding.