Amanda started out as a peer counsellor and then became a leader with La Leche League nearly 6 years ago. She set up the La Leche League Tyne and Wear meeting with fellow leader Alison Logan. Amanda became a Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2010. She coordinates breastfeeding peer support in Sunderland alongside her voluntary work for La Leche League and supports mums from across the North East.

Amanda is a mum of four and her children are aged 21, 16, 13, and 8 – two girls and two boys. She describes herself as “married to John with 1 dog, and an allotment”!

Amanda will be formally awarded the prize on the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers conference 2013 in Birmingham.

Hi Amanda. Huge congratulations on winning this year’s Pam’s Prize. How do you feel about your award?

Shocked, surprised and honoured that I was even nominated.

What first inspired you to train as a breastfeeding volunteer?

When I had my first daughter 21 years ago last week, I only managed to breastfeed her for 2 weeks. I had sore and cracked nipples and could not cope. I got better with my boys. With my youngest child I was told to go along to a support group by my midwife. I did and I wish I had gone with all of my children.

I discovered if I got the right support then I could succeed and I did.

This is why I became a breastfeeding counsellor, so that a mum does not have to give up because of lack of information and support.

How is the support given from a breastfeeding volunteer different from the support a mum might get from her midwife or other health professional?

Because sometimes, health professionals just don’t get it. Breastfeeding is not just about feeding a baby, it is about so much more. Only a mum who has felt the pain, experienced the doubt and then felt the sense of pride you get when you have fed you baby and your baby grows and develops can you truly understand what ‘it’ is all about.

What do think are the features of a good breastfeeding support group?

Relaxed and informative, giving information but not advice so that mums can reach their own solutions. There are so many tools in the breastfeeding toolkit, that you cannot do a “one size fits all” approach. I think having mums and babies of all ages helps and gives a wealth of experience.

Why do people normally come to your groups?

Quite often I see mums when they have seen everyone else and I am their last resort. If I can help them then they start coming to groups initially to see me but then as they meet other mothers they make friends and find it is a way to normalise breastfeeding.

What would you say to a pregnant mum if she wasn’t sure about whether to breastfeed?

Firstly I would say, ” Just try it for the first feed and give your baby its first immunity boost.” Then I would say she needed to get as much information and ask as many questions as she can. I would also suggest if she wanted to try breastfeeding, make sure she had a good support network around her, knowing where to ask for help. Also I would say, do not be afraid to ask for help.

I would suggest going along to groups to ask mums their experiences and I would say to them that is it hard work but it is worth is and it does get easier.

What are your plans for the future?

I would like to get into research and expand knowledge of breastfeeding further, the better informed mothers are, the more they have a chance of success.

Nominees described Amanda as ‘an absolute rock of support’. One said, “She eats, sleeps and breathes breastfeeding. Amanda is truly passionate and has inspired me to train as a peer supporter and hopefully beyond so I can one day give that help to other mothers.” Another said, “What I really want to thank her for is her unrelenting support she has given me since I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and then leukaemia.”

It’s clear Amanda inspires others and goes out of her way to offer practical and emotional support to breastfeeding mums and families throughout her area.

About Pam’s Prize

Pam’s Prize started in 2012 in memory of the ABM’s inspirational chair, Pam Lacey. It recognises breastfeeding counsellors who go the extra mile in supporting women and families in a voluntary capacity. Nominations are welcome for volunteers from any of the UK’s breastfeeding charities – La Leche League, NCT, Breastfeeding Network and the ABM.

The Association of Breastfeeding Mothers is a charity set up in 1979. The ABM supports breastfeeding families across the UK and offers a range of training opportunities. Our breastfeeding counsellors support on the National Breastfeeding Helpline and our own helpline.

If you wish to contact Amanda or the ABM please email admin@abm.me.uk

If you want to find out more about our first Pam’s Prize winner (2012) click here.

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Contents in this issue:

• The breastfeeding dad
• Meet the ABM’s co-chairs
• BFI Conference coverage:

1. Caring for women in prison – breastfeeding behind bars
2. Diabetes and breastfeeding
3. What does baby-led feeding really mean?
4. What every parent needs to know – the science of parenting
5. Preventing disease and saving resources
6. The affective needs of children
7. Conference overview

• Young mums and breastfeeding
• Save the Children campaign
• Projects update
• Book review – Home Births
• Breastfeeding is like …
• A thank you
• Breastfeeding word search
• ABM 2013 Conference booking form
• ABM 2013 Conference poster

Spring 2013 feature article

The post Current issue — Spring 2013 appeared first on Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.

If you have an event or several events planned for that month to promote breastfeeding let us know by emailing website@abm.me.uk and we will publish it here.

Events

Deal — Kent

Saturday, 1st June 2013, 9.45 – 11.45 am — Nearly New Sale

St Georges Hall (just off the High Street), St Georges Road, Deal, Kent, CT14 6BA.

50p per adult entry. £10 per table (which includes a donation to the group’s funds. The sale will include nearly new goods for babies, small children and maternity items. All proceeds will go directly to Deal Breastfeeding Support Group.

For more information about the group you can visit www.dealbreastfeedingsupportgroup.co.uk

Wallingford — Oxfordshire

Thursday, 20th June 2013, 12 – 2 pm — Official launch of Wallingford Baby Café

Ridgeway Community Church, 21b and 22 St Mary’s Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 0EW

It’s a chance for us to celebrate everything we’ve achieved since we started in November 2012. We will open our doors to the local community to show them what we do and to let more women in the area know that the support is available to them. For more information about Wallingford Baby Café click here.

The post June 2013 – National Breastfeeding Month appeared first on Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.

We warmly welcome the aim of their petition – to ask Nestle and Danone to comply fully with the WHO international code on the marketing of breastmilk substitutes. This is something families deserve worldwide – including in the UK. If companies act ethically, lives can be saved.

Improving breastfeeding rates will come from putting pressure on companies as well as asking governments to take greater responsibility in providing support for new families through healthcare professional training and resources. In both the developing and developed world, mums and babies benefit from good breastfeeding support and education. Breastfeeding is a key tool that saves lives.

For more details and to read the Save the Children’s Petition to Danone and Nestle you can visit this page:

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/danone-nestle-petition

The post Save the Children Campaign appeared first on Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.

Book description:

In this guide, Dr. William and Martha Sears draw from their vast experience as both medical professionals and parents to provide authoritative and comprehensive information on every aspect of infant care.

The Baby Book presents a practical and contemporary approach to parenting that reflects the way we live today. It is a comprehensive guide to baby care, focusing on the essential needs of babies – eating, sleeping, development, health, and comfort – as it addresses the questions of greatest concern to parents today.

The Sears’ acknowledge that there is no one best way to parent a baby, and they offer the basic guidance and inspiration you need to develop the parenting style that best suits you and your child.

The Baby Book is a rich and invaluable resource that will help you get the most out of parenting – for your child, for yourself, and for your entire family. The topics covered include:
- bonding with your baby and soothing a fussy baby
- feeding your baby right
- getting your baby to sleep
- understanding your baby’s development
- treating common illnesses
- baby proofing your home
- toddler behaviour and dealing with tantrums
- toilet training
- working and parenting

The post The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two appeared first on Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.

Book description:

Although breastfeeding is the natural and healthy way to nourish your baby, it’s not always easy. Many new mothers are scared away from nursing because of difficulty getting started and lack of information about what to do when things don’t go as planned. In this fully revised and updated edition of The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers, two of today’s foremost lactation experts help new mothers overcome their fears, doubts, and practical concerns about one of the most special ways a mother can bond with her baby.

In this comprehensive guide, Dr. Jack Newman, a leading authority on infant care, and Teresa Pitman, a La Leche League leader for more than twenty years, give you the facts about breastfeeding and provide solutions for the common problems that arise. Filled with the same practical advice that made the first edition a must-have for nursing moms, the new edition features updates on:

• Achieving a good latch

• What to do if your baby refuses the breast

• Avoiding sore nipples

• Ensuring your baby gets enough milk

• Feeding a colicky baby

• Breastfeeding premature and special-needs babies

The post The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers: The Most Comprehensive Problem-Solving Guide to Breastfeeding from the Foremost Expert in North America appeared first on Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.

This book is described on the Amazon website as follows:

This second edition of Breastfeeding Made Simple is an essential guide to breastfeeding that every new and expectant mom should own-a comprehensive resource that takes the mystery out of basic breastfeeding dynamics. Understanding the seven natural laws of breastfeeding will help you avoid and overcome challenges such as low milk production, breast refusal, weaning difficulties, and every other obstacle that can keep you from enjoying breastfeeding your baby.

Breastfeeding Made Simple will help you to: Find comfortable, relaxing breastfeeding positions. Establish ample milk production and a satisfying breastfeeding rhythm with your baby. Overcome discomfort and mastitis. Use a breast pump to express and store milk. Easily transition to solid foods.

This book is on the recommended list for Mother Supporter Trainees.

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Contents in this issue:

• “Baby-led breastfeeding” – Book review and interview with the authors.
• Breastfeeding and the whooping cough vaccination.
• Letters.
• Book reviews:

1. Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants.
2. Breastfeeding: Stories to Inspire and Inform.
3. Breasts: A natural and unnatural history.
4. Nurseries when the sun shines.

• ABM 2012 conference coverage:

1. Developments in HIV and breastfeeding.
2. Antenatal personal milk banking.
3. Why breastfeed long-term?
4. Breastfeeding after breast surgery.
5. Sex and the breastfeeding woman.

• Gallery – your photos.

Winter 2012 feature article

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