Guest Post : Dedicated support groups, here for you when everything seems impossible !

We are very lucky again, this week, to be hosting a fantastic guest post. Lisette and Geraldine are Specialist Midwives in Infant Feeding and you can follow their tweets @FeedingTogether. For more information about their work and on how to feed your baby you can also visit this website.
Today Lisette is sharing with us some of her reflections about motherhood, doubts and reluctance to get support that come with it! Her message is simple : there is a wealth of support out there, seize the opportunity!



"For all new mum’s, regardless of how they have chosen to feed their babies, there are moments when they doubt that they will ever get to grips with what their baby needs. Well, as sure as “eggs is eggs” this fear will be very short-lived if you take advantage of the wealth of support that is available to you as a new mummy.

New mummies have an amazing amount to deal with following the arrival of a new baby and learning to juggle everything that this new role throws at you can be sole destroying at times. This is, in most parts, because we are women and we seem to have this inbuilt and insane idea that we have to be perfect at all tasks and couldn’t possibly delegate anything to anybody else, because……………. Well just because!!!!!

Support is the number one key ingredient in this brand new relationship – afterall, in the past when things have been tricky in other situations, new jobs or perhaps a new relationship, we are incredibly good at seeking approval and advice (support) from those closest to us (friends & family). So why is it when we are pregnant or have a new baby that we seem to think that we have to struggle through and just “find a way”?!

Babies are everyone’s business and by that I mean that your support with breastfeeding or formula feeding shouldn’t just come from one place – midwives and health care assistants; health visitors and GP’s; friends and family will all have a part to play in giving you the support that you will need but there is an even more special place that you can go that will offer everything you need in one place.

Dedicated support groups, operate in your area and are there to offer support to you on those days when everything seems impossible. If you are having early problems (or late) with breastfeeding, you will find a dedicated team of women, who have all breastfed themselves, on hand to help you and offer you the support and information that you need to continue on your breastfeeding journey. Don’t just sit at home and worry about something, being able to share something in a group setting, with women who have or still are breastfeeding is an amazingly powerful experience. These groups are an ideal opportunity to practice things that you are not yet comfortable with, such as “breastfeeding in public” - its a very empowering moment when you finally feel confident to move from the group setting to coffee shops and restaurants or even park benches!!

 So why not pop along to a support group near you and take the opportunity to meet with and pick the brains of a number of other women – in a similar situation to yourself."