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Midwives at the Royal Berkshire Hospital will be adding an extra touch to their uniforms next week. They will be donning special sashes declaring they are "A Supporter of Breastfeeding". To mark National Breastfeeding Week (May 11 to 17) staff at the Trust are highlighting the work being carried out by the team based in the Maternity Unit. Staff will be wearing sashes promoting the campaign. The department has a long history of helping mothers realise the importance of breastfeeding and offering them a range of support. A successful breastfeeding clinic which runs five days a week in the department is now celebrating its 10th anniversary and the Trust employs a specialist midwife along with breastfeeding support midwives. Together with the Berkshire West Primary Care Trust, the Royal Berks team have helped set up six additional neighbourhood drop-in centres for new mothers, bringing the network total to 12. Specialist Midwife Rose Tilbury said: "The message we want to get across is that there's a lot going on in Reading and the surrounding areas and we are here to offer as much help as possible." The Department of Health recommends breastmilk as the best source of nutrition for babies and urges mothers to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months followed by breastfeeding alonside solid foods. But less than half of babies are being given breastmilk by the time they are six weeks old - although research has shown that many new mothers would have liked to continue for much longer, had they been offered support. |
