For some new mothers, feeding a baby can quickly become the hardest part of the day.
At the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Norfolk, England, a team of volunteers is helping women who are struggling to breastfeed after giving birth, according to the BBC. The group shares tips and offers support to mothers facing problems with nursing their newborn babies.
Jen Rudd, a volunteer support coordinator, said the extra help can matter at a difficult time.
“The moms are emotional, they’re tired, they’ve possibly had a long labor or a complicated recovery, and that’s where we can step in to really help support that,” she told the BBC.
The volunteers are trained with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, a U.K.-based charity, the BBC reported.
One of the volunteers is Elizabeth Judge, who helps mothers on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Brancaster Ward. Judge, 33, has three children, aged 11, six and three.
She successfully breastfed her second and third children, but said she had problems when trying to do the same with her eldest child.
“I was really stressed, because I was just looking at my baby, and I thought, ‘Why won’t you just feed? What am I doing wrong?’ ” Judge told the BBC.
Now she is providing the kind of support she said she wanted when she was having her own breastfeeding difficulties.
“I can give them all the time that they want, and I think that does really help, to just say to them that it’s okay, it will be okay,” Judge said.
According to the U.K.’s National Health Service, breastfeeding issues can happen for several reasons. The NHS says they can be caused by sore or cracked nipples, infection, mastitis or a breast abscess.
The NHS also lists a blocked milk duct, breast engorgement, or having too much breast milk as possible causes.
At the hospital, volunteers can spend long periods with mothers during feeds. Catherine Hood, manager of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Brancaster Ward, said that gives them time to provide close support.
The breastfeeding volunteers offer “focused support for a prolonged period,” Hood said.
“We know a feed can last up to an hour, and, as a volunteer, you can absolutely sit with that mom for that whole hour, which means you can watch a whole feed, and you can amend things along the way,” she added.
The support comes after birth, when women may be dealing with exhaustion and recovery while trying to feed a newborn. Rudd said that is the point where volunteers can help.
At Brancaster Ward, that help includes sharing advice and being present with mothers as they feed their babies, according to the BBC.
Judge said the time she can give is part of what helps. She told the BBC that being able to stay with a mother and reassure her can make a difference when feeding is difficult.
The volunteers’ role is centered on support for women who are trying to breastfeed and running into problems listed by the NHS, including pain, infection, blocked ducts and engorgement.
Hood said a single feed can last up to an hour, and volunteers can stay for the whole time to observe and adjust things as the feed continues.
