La Leche League Mullingar celebrate National Breastfeeding Week
The Mullingar branch of La Leche League yesterday marked National Breastfeeding Week (October 1-7) with an event in the Annebrooke House Hotel.
The aim of National Breastfeeding Week is to highlight how La Leceh are there to support mothers in the Mullingar area and communities across Ireland.
While the majority of mothers are choosing to breastfeed their babies when they are born (62%* of babies receiving breastmilk as their first feed), a large portion of them have already introduced formula or stopped breastfeeding altogether only a few days later, with exclusive breastfeeding rates falling to 36.7% at discharge from hospital.
Mothers and parents find themselves back in their own communities, often with very little support with the practicalities and challenges of breastfeeding an infant.
La Leche League Leaders are available 365 days a year, to give free information and support to anyone who needs it. La Leche League of Ireland has over 100 volunteer
Leaders, who have all breastfed at least one baby, for at least one year, and who have completed an internationally accredited training course to be able to provide peer support to anyone who wants to breastfeed or give their baby human milk.
They run over 36 support groups in communities across the country, which helped nearly 1,600 mothers at in-person meetings in 2022. They also provided support to nearly 1,200 mothers at online support meetings and responded to over 105,000 individual requests for support via social media in 2022.
Neasa, whose baby Emma was born unexpectedly at 32 weeks, pumped her breastmilk while Emma spent her first weeks in the NICU. Neasa had this to say about her local La
Leche League Group – "The words of encouragement from all the mums and LLL Leaders really have guided me on my journey, especially at 3am when the rest of the world seems to be asleep. The encouragement and praise I received was such a boost when it got hard.
"When we got home from hospital, I was able to gradually reduce the number of bottles she was receiving and feed more at the breast, which ultimately reduced the
amount of time expressing….And just like that, 11 months in, Emma continues to successfully feed at the breast. A far cry from a fully bottle-fed baby at five weeks."
The mothers who attend La Leche League Groups and who reach out for support are as varied as their babies and the challenges they encounter. La Leche League Leaders have experience supporting mothers who have had babies in the NICU, who have come home giving top-up bottles, or who are triple feeding (where mothers are feeding at the breast, pumping and giving top-ups in bottles), to name but a few examples.
Leaders give unbiased, evidence-based information and support to help every mother and parent reach their own breastfeeding goals – whatever that looks like in their home.
La Leche League Mullingar meets every third Monday at 8pm in the Annebrook Hotel Mullingar, whose staff are very accommodating and welcoming. The members of LLL Mullingar also have coffee mornings details of which can be found on the group's Facebook and Instagram page. Leaders are available to take calls and messages from anyone looking for breastfeeding information and support. Contact Sharon 0876402568 for more information.