You Said We Did Infant Feeding Peer Support Service Engagement 2021

Tameside Council was looking to re-tender its breastfeeding peer support service. The Tameside Breastfeeding Peer Support Service currently offers: antenatal classes and postnatal support (via telephone, home visits, on the wards, and through peer support groups). It also provides advice via social media and works alongside local businesses to create breastfeeding friendly places. Before re-tendering the service the views of service users were sought. We wanted to know feedback on the service to help inform what priorities should be in the future.

The majority of respondents indicated that they had exclusively breastfed their child (67%), followed by mix-fed (24%) and bottle-fed their child (7%). 62% of respondents said that they had been supported by the current breastfeeding support service, Homestart.

Respondents report they used the service via text or telephone (65%), through their breastfeeding group (50%), support on the ward (40%) and home visit (40%).

When asked about what support was useful in helping them to make a decision on how to feed their baby, many mentioned hospital classes, advice from midwives and advice from other parents. Some comments reflected that advice is heavily geared towards breastfeeding, and is not necessarily objective.

Some common examples of where respondents felt they were missing support were: that information prior to giving birth, raising awareness of the difficulties that breastfeeding can bring and of the different options for feeding. When asked what support they would like to see offered after birth and at home, respondents said home visits, phone calls, video support and leaflets.

The results from the survey were considered and used to inform the development of a new specification for the Breastfeeding Peer Support Service. The new specification is due to start on 1 April 2022. The findings also informed the local Infant Feeding Management Group’s development plan for areas for improvement.    

 

Consultation ran for:

12 Weeks

from:

04/06/21

to:

09/07/21