Claire, MLCO Infant Feeding Support Worker Coordinator, blogs on the Infant Feeding Team’s recent World Breastfeeding Week Community Event.

Our team celebrated World Breastfeeding Week which is a global campaign to raise awareness and promote breastfeeding. The team organised a wonderful event in Boggart Hole Clough in Blackley to bring together local families, maternity service staff and the Sure Start Children’s Centre staff to celebrate the important chain of support. Twenty families attended with their babies and toddlers to celebrate their breastfeeding journeys with a picnic in the park.

The Infant Feeding Team collaborated with the midwives at North Manchester General Hospital and arranged a display of artwork from Lizzie McLoughlin, a Maternity Support Worker from the hospital. Lizzie has captured women’s feeding experiences displayed in paintings, which were exhibited in the Park’s café alongside an information station.

The team read out a poem written by Tarryn Carpenter, organised games, painted stones with the children, displayed breastfeeding information, and a quiz. It was wonderful to greet parents that we have supported on a virtual platform through the Covid-19 lockdown months, parents that have worked with all the support services and parents that are expecting babies. Everyone was given a flag to write what support they felt was most important to them in their parenting journey, which have been shared on social media.

Find out more about the Infant Feeding Team and the Manchester Health Visiting Service here.
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