Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding from birth is one of the earliest interventions to give a child the healthiest possible start in life. Breastfeeding can lay the foundations for future development and prevent illness in later life.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life is both a national and a local priority.

Breastfeeding support in Richmond is provided by the Health Visiting Service and supported by infant feeding leads within the hospital and community.

Hospital support

If women choose to breastfeed, they will receive initial breastfeeding support from the maternity team at Kingston Hospital. They are then handed over to health visitors from day 10.

Hospital midwives are trained to provide baby-friendly standard care by the infant feeding team. Kingston Hospital also has breastfeeding peer support workers who help midwives to support mothers with breastfeeding. This team is managed by the hospital’s infant feeding lead.

Specialist service

Kingston Hospital offers a specialist Breastfeeding Support Clinic for complex cases up to 28 days post birth.

Community support

Health visitors provide breastfeeding support to mothers when they are discharged from the hospital, usually between day 10 to 14.

Breastfeeding support clinics are available around the borough to support mothers as needed and they are made up of health visitors, nursery nurses and lactation consultants. 

Through breastfeeding drop-in groups, drop-in Well Baby clinics and one-to-one specialist infant feeding clinic, our Health Visiting team provides information and support on breastfeeding and maximising breastmilk, helping families to feed safely and responsively. 

Duty advice line 

The Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH) Health Visiting Team offer a Duty Advice Line. It is available Monday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm. You can contact the team by:

• Email: clcht.0-19wandsworthandrichmondadmin@nhs.net 
• Telephone: 033 0058 1679

The Health Visiting Team can refer you to the health visiting infant feeding lead. 

Visit the CLCH website for information on the Health Visiting Service and infant feeding, sleep in pregnancy and antenatal videos. 

Voluntary services

There are also voluntary independent organisations that run breastfeeding support groups within the boroughs led by La Leche League Leaders and National Childbirth Trust (NCT) breastfeeding counsellors. 

Baby friendly operational group

We have a baby friendly operational group chaired by Richmond public health and CLCH. Members of the group include the infant feeding leads for both the hospital and community, breastfeeding lactation consultants from the voluntary sectors, health visitors and children services.

The group has been set up to provide strategic guidance for the successful outcome of the UNICEF accreditation process and to work collaboratively to improve the uptake and continuation of breastfeeding in families.

UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Accreditation (BFI)

Richmond Public Health team supports the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) accreditation. The BFI is an evidence-based, staged accreditation programme that supports maternity, neonatal, health visiting and children’s centre services to deliver effective breastfeeding support. It is a nationally recognised mark of quality care for babies and mothers.

In Richmond, the infant feeding leads for both the community and the hospital (Kingston maternity) lead on this programme.

Breastfeeding friendly scheme 

Richmond Public Health is working with the Breastfeeding Network (BfN) to roll out a brand new Breastfeeding Friendly Scheme across Richmond.

The scheme invites local businesses and venues to sign up and become breastfeeding friendly venues. The scheme is free to join and is open to premises from hairdressers, shops, libraries and museums to community centres, GP practices and health centres — in fact anywhere that is open to the public.

By signing up to this scheme businesses and organisations can help show that they welcome and support breastfeeding families by displaying an easily recognisable sticker and sharing information with their staff and volunteers about why breastfeeding is important and how it is protected.

Joining the scheme

To join the scheme or for further information, contact richmond@breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk.