Working Life: We encourage new mums to give breastfeeding a go

Deirdre Lee, RGN, midwife, and lactation consultant in St Mary’s Primary Care Centre, Gurranabraher, Cork

Midwife and lactation consultant Deirdre Lee (second left) pictured with Farhana, Ameera, Adele and Lucia at the Milk and Magic event at Blackpool Library, celebrating National Breastfeeding Week. Picture: Chani Anderson

“I’m a midwife of 30 years and have always been passionate about breastfeeding. In 2017, I acted on that passion, sitting exams to become a lactation consultant and setting up a breastfeeding support group in Integrated Healthcare Area Cork North and East with my now-retired colleague Mary Creedon.

“Together with fellow lactation consultant Maria Nagle and teams from St Mary’s and Mayfield primary care centres, we have worked hard to address low breastfeeding rates in the area, with strong results.

“When we first meet a mum, we always ask if they are breastfeeding and, if not, we encourage them to give it a go. For some, it’s down to feeling uncomfortable feeding in public. We chat about pumping — that way, they can express milk and use it to bottle feed. It means baby gets all the nutritional and immune benefits of breast milk. We have a number of pumps that we can lend free of charge for a period of time. The initiative can help increase the mum’s confidence around breastfeeding and support longer-term continuation.

“Every Friday, we run a breastfeeding support group at Ard na Rí residential complex in Farranree. It’s a lovely, welcoming environment for new mums and babies. We regularly organise guest speakers with expertise in areas like baby massage, women’s health, nutrition, and physiotherapy. The women benefit from practical advice and peer support and bond over tea and biscuits.

“Things have changed a lot since I started, when frozen cabbage leaves were a remedy for a lot of things. While still effective, nowadays if a mum has cracked nipples, we can also refer her to Cork University Maternity Hospital for laser treatment or for an ultrasound to treat serious engorgement.

“Another game-changer is the harvesting of colostrum, known as ‘liquid gold’, the first milk produced, which is rich in antibodies, immune factors, and nutrients. It’s hand-expressed by the mum, collected in sterile vials, and frozen for use until the baby is born. It can be particularly useful if the baby is at risk of low blood glucose or if there are feeding issues. It can be collected from 36 weeks in Cork with medical supervision.

“We celebrated National Breastfeeding Week recently with a ‘Milk and Magic’ event in Blackpool Library — and it went down a treat with mums and babies.”