Infant Feeding e-learning programme now live

A new e-learning programme to support education around the implementation of Baby Friendly standards in healthcare and public healthcare settings has been developed.

The programme is for healthcare professionals who have contact with pregnant women and new mothers. It aims to provide information about the importance of building close and loving relationships with baby during pregnancy and following birth, as well as information around breast and bottle feeding.

Topics covered by the session include:

Challenges and Culture
Importance of Breastfeeding
Importance of Love
Formula Feeding
Providing Unbiased Information.

This programme is not intended to replace existing training. Instead it is intended to complement training for those in facilities which are implementing Baby Friendly standards.

It has been developed by Health Education England, e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) and the National Infant Feeding Network (Yorkshire and Humber). Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative has also given their
support to the programme.

For more information about the Infant Feeding e-learning programme and for details of how to access the programme visit: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/infant-feeding/

The e-learning programme is available via the e-LfH Hub and the Electronic Staff Record.

PHE – Open consultation Feeding in the first year of life

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) consultation on its draft report ‘Feeding in the first year of Life’ is open for comment.

Health visitors are invited to submit comments relating to the scientific content of the draft SACN report ‘Feeding in the First Year of Life’. You are also invited to draw the committee’s attention to any evidence that it may have missed.

By The original uploader was Ellywa at Dutch Wikipedia – Transferred from nl.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7113434

Please ensure that any evidence you bring to SACN’s attention satisfies the inclusion and exclusion criteria summarised in the ‘consultation invitation’, see link below.

Please send your responses to [email protected] by 5pm on 13 September 2017.

All responses will be published following the conclusion of the consultation.

Go to PHE consultation on Feeding in the First Year of Life

Launch of Commissioning Guidance for Infant Feeding

PHE and Unicef UK are delighted to announce the launch of “Commissioning Infant Feeding Services: A toolkit for Local Authorities”.

This publication provides guidance to help local commissioners protect, promote and support breastfeeding. The document is jointly branded by Public Health England and Unicef UK and includes endorsements from:

Sally Davis, Chief Medical Officer
Viv Bennett, Chief Nurse
Kevin Fenton, Director, Public Health England

The document has several parts:

Summary: highlights key messages and themes.
Part 1, Infographics: these colourful, easy to use slides give a concise and accessible overview. Please feel free to use these in your own presentations.
Part 2, Toolkit: details what success would look like for a commissioner working within their local authority to promote, protect and support breastfeeding.
Part 3, Data: sets out guidance on effective data collection, monitoring and reporting.

Commissioning Infant Feeding Services: A toolkit for Local Authorities

UK tongue-tie services – new article

An article on Tongue-tie services in the UK has just been published in the June edition of MIDIRS Digest .

This paper reviews the evidence surrounding tongue-tie division (frenotomy) and reports on the findings of a national survey to map the provision of UK NHS tongue-tie services. The findings emphasise the variability of service provision across NHS Trusts, and the limitations within the evidence base relating to assessment tools and intervention. There is a need for equitable access to skilled assessment and services to prevent both under- and over-diagnosis, and a need for all women to receive appropriate and timely breastfeeding support.

Go to online article - United Kingdom tongue-tie services: a postcode lottery

Download pdf of article - United Kingdom tongue-tie services: a postcode lottery

As a parents’ charity, to help address the variability and improve care for families, NCT recommends:

All Trusts/boards have an infant feeding coordinator/team and are working towards achieving or maintaining Baby Friendly status, to provide at least the minimum level of skilled support with breastfeeding.
Identifying priorities and securing funding for further research on tongue-tie, including longer term follow up, research into women’s experiences and identifying standardised diagnostic criteria and assessment tools.
Development of evidence-based good practice protocols by NICE or as part of the Baby Friendly Initiative to include

commissioning of services, skilled assessment of feeding and clear criteria for referral for possible division,
skilled support with feeding immediately after division, follow up, with ongoing support readily available, regular audit and reviewing the training process.

Easy access for all parents to a tongue-tie service, if needed, preferably provided by the local NHS Trust/board but, if not, with a clear referral route to a neighbouring Trust/board.
Services to have sufficient capacity, in order to minimise waiting times.
Recognition that mothers may have painful and upsetting experiences of tongue-tie and should have their concerns taken seriously.

iHV supports open letter on the current crisis in breastfeeding in the UK

An open letter on the crisis in breastfeeding in the UK has been issued today, signed by midwives, health visitors, paediatricians, lactation consultants, breastfeeding counsellors, peer supporters, university researchers and others who work for professional organisations and charities that support families – including the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV).

The letter follows the recent series in The Lancet on breastfeeding – the most comprehensive review of all the evidence on breastfeeding to date.

The open letter states: “The breastfeeding crisis in the UK is in fact a crisis of lack of support for those mothers who choose to breastfeed.” It highlights the recent cuts to breastfeeding support services and the infant feeding specialist posts, which are driven by cuts to public health, which amount to £200 million in total in England.

Cheryll Adams, Executive Director, Institute of Health Visiting, said:

“The uptake of breastfeeding is a major public health issue and the UK must address its very disappointing figures, laid bare by the Lancet, as a first step in also addressing many other health issues improved by breastfeeding, including the challenging year on year increase in childhood obesity which breastfeeding can protect against. A reduction in childhood obesity is a priority for the government so breastfeeding must now also be given priority status with mothers given access to the professional and voluntary support they need to breastfeed for as long as they wish.”

The open letter will be sent to all four governments of the UK and in particular to: Jane Ellison (Minister for Public Health), Ben Gummer (Minister for Care Quality), Duncan Selbie (Chief Executive, Public Health England) and Simon Stevens (Chief Executive of NHS England).

Read full press release