Breastfeeding Buddy- Mum to mum peer support for Mums in the Coombe.

liliq

Hi, I hope it's ok to post this here!

Are you a new mum? Are you pregnant and hoping to breastfeed? Did you/will you have your baby in the Coombe on or after 1 February 2013.
Do you have questions, concerns or just want to chat with another mum
who has been there…
Then the Breastfeeding Buddy System is for you!

What is a Breastfeeding Buddy?
A Breastfeeding Buddy is mum in your local area who has breastfed her own child and who has attended breastfeeding information training. She is not a health professional but she will be able to provide you with peer support and encouragement. She will provide you with literature/information on breastfeeding and sources of other help available in your area should you need it. Your Breastfeeding Buddy will encourage and support you through the early days of breastfeeding your baby. Your Breastfeeding Buddy is also available to you to accompany you to a local group or to go out for a coffee to nurse in public for the first time.
Please note:
- This program is being run on a trial basis in cooperation with the Coombe Women’s and Infants Hospital, Dublin and will operate in a limited number of areas (see below).
- This service is entirely free of charge.
- There are a limited number of buddies in each area, who will be assigned to mums on a first come first served basis. We hope to accommodate everybody, but cannot guarantee this.

Areas currently covered:
Carpenterstown
Celbridge
Dublin 12
Tallaght
Rathcoole
Citywest
Saggart
Lucan
Knocklyon

If you would like to participate in the Breastfeeding Buddy System, please register online at http://www.friendsofbreastfeeding.ie/wp/support/buddy-system/

If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or check out more info on www.friendsofbreastfeeding.ie. There are also information flyers available in the Coombe.

Thanks!

Lisa

cyning

This is such a fantastic idea... I really hope they extend it country wide

liliq

Me too!
Like any trial service, it will only expand if it's used, so hopefully anyone that is interested signs up and makes use of it in whatever way they want.
I can't wait for it to get going

How Strange

It's a shame that Dublin 10 are excluded. It always seems to be the way with the Coombe initiatives. Dublin 10 are the last to be offered the service.

Otherwise it's a fantastic idea and I hope new mums reach out to use the service.

lazygal

Is there a reason so few areas are included? No pregnant women I know live near any of the locations mentioned?

Digs

I'm in Knocklyon and know loads of people pregnant in those areas Unfortunately I'm with Holles Street though but hopefully it's something that will catch on with other hospitals and in time it can expand to other areas, great idea.

lazygal

I'm in north Dublin. I'm attending Holles St but know women near me with the Coombe. They'd be outside all the areas mentioned.

How Strange

lazy gal/Digs usually each of the 3 maternity hospitals have a catchment area so north Dublin and north inner city are services by the Rotunda, south county Dublin and east Wicklow by Holles St and west Dublin, Crumlin, Dublin 8 up to parts of Kildare by the Coombe.

So while you're free to attend whichever hospital you choose specific services such as the domino scheme or the early transfer home scheme may not be available to you if you live outside the catchment area of the hospital.

It's very good that the coombe are involved in this as they're not part of the WHO's baby friendly hospital initiative (or whatever the correct name is) which is supposed to promote breastfeeding above formula.

I commented on Dublin 10 because that's where I live and I've always noticed we're like this little blip that gets excluded from trials such as the satellite clinics, community midwives, domino scheme etc.

annamcmahon

The catchment area is small for now because we only have a small number of women available as buddys. We are currently looking for other women who live within the coombe's catchment to be buddys. If anyone is interested pm me or liliq and we can email you a form. We would really like to cover more areas.

Digs

How Strange wrote: »

lazy gal/Digs usually each of the 3 maternity hospitals have a catchment area so north Dublin and north inner city are services by the Rotunda, south county Dublin and east Wicklow by Holles St and west Dublin, Crumlin, Dublin 8 up to parts of Kildare by the Coombe.

So while you're free to attend whichever hospital you choose specific services such as the domino scheme or the early transfer home scheme may not be available to you if you live outside the catchment area of the hospital.

It's very good that the coombe are involved in this as they're not part of the WHO's baby friendly hospital initiative (or whatever the correct name is) which is supposed to promote breastfeeding above formula.

I commented on Dublin 10 because that's where I live and I've always noticed we're like this little blip that gets excluded from trials such as the satellite clinics, community midwives, domino scheme etc.

No I understand the catchment areas and think the areas the service is being offered to are correct. The coombe is actually closer to me but we chose Holles Street for other reasons! My comment was in response to lazygals and more so to agree it was a great idea and hopefully it will catch on with Holles Street, rotunda etc which is what I meant by expanding to other areas.

lazygal

I understand the catchment areas. I chose Holles St for specific reasons, but even though I'm within a 15/20 min drive of the Rotunda a lot of the midwife led services are outside our area. I was just commenting on how areas that are close to maternity hospitals can still fall outside those kind of services.

annamcmahon

Hopefully this trial will be a great success and will be rolled out in other hospitals.

Couchkitten

How Strange wrote: »

I commented on Dublin 10 because that's where I live and I've always noticed we're like this little blip that gets excluded from trials such as the satellite clinics, community midwives, domino scheme etc.

I agree about Dublin 10. It's where I live also and the community midwives told me that there was no satellite clinic in the area because there was so little demand for the community midwife scheme. It's a shame though.

liliq

We are planning on running a second round of training between April and June, and are looking to recruit volunteers to be Buddies. As we're still in the pilot stage of the programme, we are limiting recruitment to within the catchment area of the Coombe. So ladies who think this service is needed in Dublin 10... wink wink nudge nudge
If anyone is interested in becoming a buddy or in having a buddy, please check out the website, or PM annamcmahon or myself for more details.

liliq

Hey mamas, just wanted to say if there is anyone interested in becoming a buddy, the deadline for this round of applications is this Sunday. There is a limited number of places, but there are a couple left

How Strange

liliq I pm'd you (twice!) but not sure if they went through or not. Let me know if you didn't get them.

liliq

I haven't got them!
Ill pm you now and see if it goes through

all_smilz

wow what an excellent initiative! I work as a student midwife and have often thought mums are more likely to ask other mums than go to a professional

liliq

Dublin mamas will be glad to hear that this buddy system initiative is now open to all mums in Dublin in the catchment areas and not just those attending the Coombe.
The details to get a buddy are in my top post, or can be found at www.friendsofbreastfeeding.ie
The system really is what you want to make of it, so please apply if you're in any way interested.

wmpdd3

I think this is a brilliant idea and would love to see this rolled out across the country, you meet so many mums that struggled in the early days like myself and to have someone to bounce concerns off would have been great .

liliq

Sorry for bumping an oldish thread, but this support service is now extended to the Dundrum & rathfarnham
(I'm really excited about this because I live in Dundrum, so I'm really looking forward to meeting some local ladies!)

liliq

Just a little update
I've had a few mums now as buddies and I have to say, I'm really enjoying it! It's great getting to meet mums and their gorgeous little cuties!