"The moms are emotional, they're tired, they've possibly had a long labor … and that's where we can step in, said a volunteer support coordinator
Credit: Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A local hospital has a team of volunteers to help women struggling to breastfeed after giving birth
- “The moms are emotional, they’re tired, they’ve possibly had a long labor or a complicated recovery, and that’s where we can step in,” said a volunteer support coordinator
- Breastfeeding issues can come about due to sore or cracked nipples, infection, mastitis or a breast abscess, as well as a blocked milk duct,breast engorgement or a woman having too much breast milk
Women struggling to breastfeed after giving birth are being supported by a team of volunteers at a local hospital.
At the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Norfolk, England, the group has been sharing tips and offering support to moms facing issues with nursing their newborn babies, according to the BBC.
"The moms are emotional, they're tired, they've possibly had a long labor or a complicated recovery, and that's where we can step in to really help support that," Jen Rudd, a volunteer support coordinator, told the outlet.
The group undergoes training with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (ABM), a U.K.-based charity, per the BBC.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Credit: Getty
Elizabeth Judge is one of the breastfeeding support volunteers providing assistance at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital's Brancaster Ward.
The woman — who has three children, ages 11, six and three — successfully breastfed her second and third babies, but she faced issues when trying to do the same with her eldest child. "I was really stressed, because I was just looking at my baby, and I thought, 'Why won't you just feed? What am I doing wrong?' " Judge, 33, told the BBC.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
Now, the mother of three said helping out other moms, by providing the aid she wished she had when she struggled through her own breastfeeding woes, offers her solace.
"I can give them all the time that they want, and I think that does really help, to just say to them that it's okay, it will be okay," Judge said.
Credit: Getty
According to the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS), breastfeeding issues can come about due to sore or cracked nipples, infection, mastitis or a breast abscess.
A blocked milk duct could also be a cause, per the organization, as can breast engorgement, or a woman having too much breast milk.
Catherine Hood, a manager of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital's Brancaster Ward, said the breastfeeding volunteers offer "focused support for a prolonged period,"
"We know a feed can last up to an hour, and, as a volunteer, you can absolutely sit with that mom for that whole hour, which means you can watch a whole feed, and you can amend things along the way," she added.
Read the full article here
