Emma Keen gave birth to Evander on Monday morning and knew she was going to breast-feed him.
‘‘It’s just what you do when you have a baby,’’ she said.
It was more convenient, easier and cheaper than bottle-feeding — and she did not have to carry bottles around.
When The Star spoke with Mrs Keen on Monday afternoon, she had fed Evander three times and it was all going well.
‘‘He seems to know what he’s doing.’’
She breast-fed her daughter, now 6 years old, for about nine months but struggled for the first six weeks because the baby was tongue-tied.
Mrs Keen said breast-feeding was easier the second time around because ‘‘you know if they are doing it right or wrong’’.
She was confident and comfortable feeding Evander. ‘‘I know what it’s meant to feel like.’’
Peer supporters at Queen MaryIt is an exciting time for the Dunedin breastfeeding peer supporters, who have not only recently moved The Breast Room to The Valley Project in North Rd, but have also started a peer support service at Queen Mary in Dunedin Public Hospital. Research shows that the earlier a mother has support from a more experienced, like-minded peer, the more positive her breastfeeding outcomes are likely to be, and that the earlier a mother is able to establish successful breastfeeding, the easier the transition to parenthood can be — not only for the mother, but for the whole family unit. (Mohrbacher, N. 2014). A small team of breastfeeding peer supporters will be at Queen Mary on Monday mornings from 10am until noon, introducing themselves to mums, partners and/or grandparents, providing them with information about The Breast Room and how to seek support when they leave hospital and/or are discharged from the care of their midwife. The peer supporters will also be available for oneto-one consultations with mums if they have specific questions or concerns that fall within the normal range of breastfeeding the peer supporters are trained in. |
Click the links below to read more about World Breast Feeding Awareness Week:
Breast Room moves to new spot to help mums
Success after initial concern with twins
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