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Parent charity calls for review of breastfeeding support
Pregnancy and Parents Centre in Edinburgh said support clinics should not be closing.
Reporting by Holly Jones
An Edinburgh-based pregnancy and parenting charity is calling for an urgent review of the support offered to breastfeeding mothers across the Lothians.
Pregnancy and Parents Centre says that new mothers are being "failed" by the system.
It comes after drop-in clinics specialising in helping mums having difficulties breastfeeding were closed across the region.
Charlotte Milliken struggled with breastfeeding when her daughter Niamh was born.
"It never really 'clicked' like you think it's suppose to, because it's meant to be the most natural thing in the world - but actually we both struggled quite a lot," she said.
"Niamh wasn't gaining weight and I was in a lot of pain and I was mentally coming to the end of my rope because I couldn't feed my baby without being in a lot of pain."
She was advised to seek help at specialist a drop-in breastfeeding clinic put on by NHS Lothian.
But she discovered these had been closed, and replaced with a referral system that's seen the number of women being supported dropping from 40 to just 12 a week.
The new system means an appointment is not guaranteed, and in the end Charlotte resorted to paying for a private consultation to resolve her issues.
Scotland has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. Pregnancy and parenting centres like this one say it's important that fast support is given to women who are experiencing difficulties.
Daisy Dinwoodie from the Pregnancy and Parents Centre explains: "Of the women that give up breastfeeding 80% wish they could have continued.
"If we aren't helping women to breastfeed, if we're not giving that support then we are failing them and leaving them with the impression that they have failed.
"The clinics were supporting more than 2000 visits a year with 26% of babies seen presenting with large weight loss, slow weight gain or requiring supplements, demonstrating the urgency of the support being offered.
"Mothers have been reassured that their community midwife or health visitor will now provide some of the services previously offered by the drop-in clinics but the reality is that these staff are already stretched too far.
"They don't have the time or resources to sit with a woman and her baby for an hour or more and resolve a feeding issue."
NHS Lothian said it was committed to ensuring that every new mother has access to high-quality infant feeding support and advice.
"When their baby is born, all women in Lothian and the rest of Scotland now have a named midwife and health visitor, who can provide expert advice during one to one consultations in their own home," the health board said in a statement..
"For women who need extra help and support with specific feeding difficulties, we run a specialist service at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and St John's Hospital in Livingston.
"A telehealth service is also available which allows women to speak to an advisor from their own home.
"For general breastfeeding advice and support, NHS Lothian works closely with third sector groups and charities through our Maternity Liaison Services Committee to train peer support advisors and provide a wide variety of drop in services throughout Lothian.
"Following the service improvement changes to the breastfeeding specialist service, a review with staff and women took place to establish how the services worked for them and gather the necessary information to strengthen that universal Lothian-wide service.
"The aim is to make sure we continue to provide high quality, sustainable and consistent care.
"We will continue to improve our current range of services and it is our aim that every mother will have easy access to a support group."