Skip to main content
Services A-Z

Contact form

Required
Required
Required
Required
Required
Required

Need to Cancel / Change an Appointment visit: Cancel or change your appointment? :: Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (dgt.nhs.uk)

Appointment text reminder service: Appointment text reminder service :: Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (dgt.nhs.uk) somewhere on here so people are directed to this page? Any suggestions of how this is possible are very welcome. 

 

 

Feeding your baby

Breastfeeding workshop

Are you pregnant and would you like to find out more about breastfeeding? Please watch our online Breastfeeding Videos.

Workshops are held at Darent Valley Hospital or a Children’s Centre.

Content covered

  • Skin to skin contact
  • Positioning
  • Problem solving
  • Questions/concerns 

Breastfeeding information and support

Infant Feeding Support Information - August 2022

Information Sheet for Coronavirus and Feeding your baby is available HERE.

 

We hope that feeding is going well, but realise that you may concerned about the risk of you baby getting Coronavirus (COVID-19) while you are feeding and getting to know each other.

Current evidence suggests that Coronavirus is spread by respiratory droplets (coughing and sneezing), direct contact and contaminated surfaces/equipment. It is important that you protect your baby by:

  • washing your hands regularly
  • avoid sneezing and coughing near your baby
  • ensuring surfaces and equipment are clean
  • having skin to skin contact
  • limit the number of people who hold your baby

Unicef: https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/infant-feeding-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/

Breastfeeding

There is no evidence at the moment to suggest that Coronavirus can be transmitted from mother to baby through breastmilk.

Breastfeeding protects babies from developing infections as breastmilk contains special factors that destroy bacteria and viruses as well as boosting the baby’s immune system.

It is important that you continue breastfeeding/giving breastmilk even if you become unwell.

If any member of the family becomes ill, the baby will have already have been exposed to the illness. Interrupting/stopping   breastfeeding may actually increase the baby’s risk of becoming ill.

Follow these links for more information

Breastfeeding Network: https://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/coronavirus/

La Leche League International: https://www.llli.org/coronavirus/ (Available in different languages)

Formula/bottle feeding

If you are formula/bottle feeding your baby, continue to follow current guidance on washing/ sterilizing equipment and making up feeds.

Continue to feed your baby responsively, pacing the feeds and limiting the number of people who feed your baby.

First Steps Nutrition has useful information on safe formula/bottle feeding:  https://www.firststepsnutrition.org/parents-carers 

What to do if you become ill

Public Health England (PHE) has issued the following guidance to follow if you become ill:

  • washing your hands before touching the baby, breast pump or bottles
  • avoiding coughing or sneezing on the baby while feeding
  • cleaning any breast pump as recommended by the manufacturer after each use
  • considering asking someone who is well to feed your expressed breastmilk to the baby
  • If you are feeding with formula or expressed milk, sterilise the equipment carefully before each use. You should not share bottles or a breast pump with someone else.

The Lullaby Trust also has useful information for keeping your baby safe.

https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/coronavirus-and-caring-for-your-baby/

Information for new Parents

The movement of our wards within maternity has resulted in a number of changes to the provision of infant feeding preparation. As a result those parents wishing to formula feed their baby must now provide their own readymade formula milk (not powdered). Our staff will assist you with sterilising your bottles.

We still have a freezer available for those women wishing to store their harvested or frozen breast milk.

Darent Valley Hospital has achieved UNICEF Baby Friendly Award - the joint efforts of the maternity, neonatal and paediatric teams have been rewarded with the UNICEF Stage 3 Accreditation.

Skin to skin contact with your baby

As soon as your baby has been born, s/he will be carefully dried and placed on your chest skin to skin with you and covered with a blanket. This is the best start that you can give to your baby – cuddling skin to skin after the birth for as long as you can. It eases your baby into the world, keeping him/her warm, well and secure.

Skin to skin contact has a positive effect upon stabilising your baby’s heart rate, breathing and blood sugar. Most importantly, it enables baby to find its way to the breast and take the first feed of colostrum which is rich with goodness. Even if you don’t intend to breast feed, having this precious colostrum for the first few feeds gives your baby the benefit of the protection and immunity it provides.

Whilst in hospital

Midwives offer breastfeeding support. In addition we also have a team of excellent breastfeeding specialists who can offer additional support if you need it.

How to feed your new baby is probably one of the most important decisions a parent has to make.

“Babies who are breastfed are less likely to develop many illnesses in infancy, childhood and adulthood. The World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the UK Government all recommend that babies should be fed only breastmilk for their first 6 months of life.”   (UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative).

Because of the health benefits for both babies and mothers, here at Darent Valley we actively encourage and support mothers to breastfeed. We believe that it is important that all parents-to-be have information about infant feeding, so that they can make a fully informed decision about how best to feed their new baby. We also believe that it is important that mothers are provided with information, help and support with breastfeeding, so that they can feed their baby for as long as they want to. 

For these reasons we are committed to working towards the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative, and we have already acheived Certificate of Intent.

For mothers who are unable to breastfeed, or who choose not to do so, we fully support their choice by providing them with information so that they can artificially feed their baby as safely as possible.

Your baby’s tummy is tiny (the size of a marble) when s/he is first born, so those initial feeds will be small and frequent. For the first few days its best if s/he feeds every 1 – 2 hours, night and day. This gives baby time to get used to his/her tummy. It will also give your baby plenty of colostrum and time to practise feeding. At the same time, these frequent feeds encourage your milk supply which increases day by day, pacing your baby’s increasing requirements.

As midwives, we actively promote and support breastfeeding. However, if you choose to bottle feed your baby we will support you in this choice too.

The Maternity Department will not supply formula milk for those women choosing to artificially feed their babies so it is necessary that women supply their own 1st stage infant formula (either liquid "ready to use" or powdered infant formula) plus 2 infant feeding bottles with teats and caps, for the duration of their stay in hospital. Sterilizers and storage are provided.

For further advice on this please speak to your Midwife. Please note that women who intend to breastfeed do not need to bring in the above.

Page last edited: 16 August 2022