Breastfeeding Support Services

Breastfeeding gives your baby the best possible start as breastmilk provides a lot more than just nourishment, it acts as both food and medicine due to special components which helps to boost your child’s immune system.

While breastfeeding is natural, it is also a learned skill and within the Northern Trust a wide range of support is available for local families.

UNICEF Baby friendly accreditation

The Northern Trust actively promotes and supports breastfeeding and has been Gold UNICEF UK Baby Friendly accreditted since 2018.

This award recognises the excellent level of care, knowledge, skill and support provided by our Maternity and Health Visiting services, who are all highly trained in breastfeeding and infant feeding.

Our Neonatal Unit and Sure Start Services as also both fully accredited by the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative.

Every family in NHSCT is allocated a Midwife and Health Visitor who can be contacted for additional infant feeding support by face to face or telephone.

Antenatal breastfeeding workshops

The infant feeding coordinators are hosting breastfeeding workshops to assist you in your breastfeeding journey. You and your partner can attend from 36 weeks gestation.

This is a two-hour, group-based class delivered via virtual platform (MS Teams) or face to face. Face-to-face workshops area held in Maternity Outpatients 4 (OPD4) at Antrim Area Hospital. Partners are welcome to attend.

You will need to book your place on these classes, as spaces are limited. Please send your name, due date and hospital number to BreastFeedingWorkshop@northerntrust.hscni.net.

If you are unable to attend, a Breastfeeding Workshop provided by Dorset Healthcare can be watched at your own convenience dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/breastfeedingcourse

Breastfeeding peer support service

The peer support volunteers who provide the breastfeeding peer support service are a group of local mothers who are trained by our Infant Feeding Leads. This enables them to offer encouragement and support to other mothers. By sharing their own skills and experiences, peer mums can help breastfeeding mothers to overcome many problems with breastfeeding and encourage them to discuss any concerns they may have.

Support is provided by phone or text messages and is available outside times health professionals traditionally are.

Consent for this service is obtained via the breastfeeding Peer Support Link who can put mothers in touch with a Peer Volunteer, who will then make contact to introduce themselves and provide their contact details.

Referral for this service can also accessed through Midwives and Health Visitors, or you can contact Jayne Calderwood, Peer Support Link worker on 07500891884.

Breastfeeding support groups

Face to face and virtual Breastfeeding Support Groups within your local area are provided by our SureStart and our Health Visiting Services.

Face-to-face

  • Ballymena & Little Steps SureStart (Ballymena group)

  • Ballymena

    • West Church, 19 Ballymoney Road, Ballymena, BT43 5BS
    • Second and fourth Thursday of the month from 10.30am-12pm
    • Contact Health Visiting Team – 02825635353 or 02825635235

  • Dalriada Rural Surestart Bushmills

  • Dalriada Rural Surestart Ballycastle

  • Gold SureStart Cookstown

    • 18 – 24 Loy Street, Cookstown, BT80 8PE
    • Every Wednesday from 10am-12pm
    • Contact 028 8676 9994

  • North Coast Breastfeeding group

    • Portrush Medical Centre, Dunluce Avenue, Portrush, BT56 8DW
    • Second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 10am-11.30am
    • Contact Health Visitor on 02870822423 or 02870834264

  • Coleraine SureStart Partnership

    • 34C Society Street, Coleraine BT52 1LA
    • Every Thursday from 11am-12.30pm
    • Contact 028 7032 1032

  • Bosom Buddies Abbey SureStart

    • 440 Shore Road, Newtownabbey BT37 9RU
    • Every Monday from 10am-11.30am
    • Contact 028 7032 1032

  • Newtownabbey

    • Glengormley Community Services Centre, 40 Carnmoney Road, Newtownabbey, BT36 6HP
    • First and third Thursday of the month from 11.30am-12.30pm
    • Contact Health Visiting team 028 9083 1502 or 028 9083 1503

  • Magherafelt

    • Magherafelt Baptist Church, 6 Ballyronan Road, Magherafelt BT45 6BP
    • Every Monday from 10am-12pm
    • Contact 028 8676 9994

Virtual

  • Horizon SureStart

    • Zoom
    • First and third Wednesday from 11am-12pm
    • Contact Alison Metcalfe – 02893359734

  • Regional – La Leche League NI

    • Zoom
    • Every Friday from 9.30am-11.30am

  • Regional – NCT NI

    • Zoom
    • Every Sunday from 2pm-3pm

Specialist breastfeeding support

For families facing more complex feeding challenges, a dedicated Specialist Breastfeeding Support Service is accessible via referral from health professionals such as Health Visitors, Midwives, SureStart leads, GP’s and Paediatricians.

This specialist support service is provided by Infant Feeding Leads within the Maternity and Health Visiting services. The Infant Feeding Leads providing this service are also International Board Certified lactation Consultants (IBCLC’s).

Tongue tie assessment service/breastfeeding assessment clinic

Some babies are born with a tight piece of skin between the underside of their tongue and the bottom of their mouth (lingual frenulum), this is known as a tongue-tie. The presence of a tongue-tie may not affect your baby at all, however, some babies may have difficulty feeding.

Tongue tie assessments are provided at Specialist Feeding Clinics held by the Infant Feeding Leads in the Maternity Service at Antrim Area Hospital. Referrals to these clinics are made via Health Visitors and Midwives following the completion of a detailed breastfeeding assessment with implementation of appropriate feeding support.

Not all babies with a tongue tie require treatment, and help with positioning and attachment can resolve feeding issues in many cases. If you have concerns regarding feeding and a potential tongue tie, please speak to your Midwife/Health Visitor for further assessment and support.

Breast pump loan services

TinyLife offers breast pump loans to support the feeding of premature or unwell babies in the Northern Trust area.

If your baby fits this criteria, you can access a pump loan from TinyLife by speaking to the Neonatal Unit staff or by completing the referral form available at:

https://www.tinylife.org.uk/services-for-families/breast-pump-loan-service/

We also have a community based breast pump loan scheme for families facing feeding challenges. Breast pump loans can be accessed through Health Visitors, Midwives and Infant Feeding Leads as part of an ongoing feeding plan.

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