After your baby is born you will be encouraged to hold your baby skin to skin for as long as you like and until they receive their first feed.
A midwife will offer to help you to start breastfeeding in the first half hour or so after your baby is born. Your baby will be kept with you at all times.
At the New Birth Visit your health visitor will check that you are happy with your baby’s feeding and complete a breastfeeding assessment with you so that you feel confident that breastfeeding is going well and where you can get help and information.
> When your baby is around six months old you can start to introduce family foods. Talk to your Health Visitor or Community Nursery Nurse about how to access Introducing Family Foods workshops in your area.
Your Family Doctor can support you if you have any health concerns about you or your baby and your pharmacist can give you information about the medication you can take whilst you are breastfeeding
For more information about breastfeeding support, please contact your Health Visitor or attend one of the breastfeeding support groups listed below.
Sure Start Children’s Centres are located in your local community and offer advice and support for families with children under five years. Services include: breastfeeding support, and information about nutrition and healthy lifestyles from pregnancy and beyond.
Local breastfeeding support in Surrey
The information below is correct as of January 2019. However, the dates and times of clinics do change from time to time, so please do ring them first to check the clinic is still running before leaving home.
If any of the information below is incorrect, please do tell us so we can update it by emailing csh.comms@nhs.net
• Bourne Hall Breastfeeding Clinic (drop-in) 10am - 12 noon (except on Bank Holidays). T: 0208 394 1301. Bourne Hall Health Centre (1st floor), Ewell Village, Ewell, KT17 1TG (we ask that if possible you park at the Bourne Hall Library and Civic Centre as parking at the health centre is extremely limited and is often required by the elderly and infirm. Thank you)
It recommended that everyone over 1 year of age should take a 10 micrograms of Vitamin D supplement daily. And as a precaution, breastfed babies from birth up to 1 year of age should also be given a supplement of 8.5 to 10 micrograms of Vitamin D every day. Babies who are formula fed do not require vitamin D supplement if they having 500ml per day of infant formula or more. Vitamin D supplementation is important because we and our children are unable to get enough Vitamin D from sunlight in this country, or from diet alone.
Speak to your health visitor or nursery nurse for more information about why Vitamin D is important. Healthy Start vitamins are available to buy or exchange for healthy start vouchers at every Children's Centre in Surrey. Find your nearest Healthy Start stockist.
For further information
To follow up a referral
For example, for developmental paediatrics or therapy services such as speech and language therapy. Contact the One Stop referral centre (tel: 0300 222 5755, Option 2) and they will be able to advise.
If your query is not covered by the routes above, please use the form below to contact us. Your query will be passed to the relevant team who will aim to respond within 7 working days.
Your midwife will offer to show you