Many mums feel overwhelmed in the early days of caring for a newborn, when they seem to do little else, day and night, besides feed a hungry baby. Breastfeeding is a skill that can take time to master but once you’ve got the hang of it, the rewards for you and your baby are great.

While there is plenty of help online from trusted sources, advice from an NHS-trained breastfeeding peer supporter can be the difference between giving up or continuing to breastfeed. Supporters can help with things like positioning and latching, give advice on infant feeding and safe sleeping and signpost to other sources of help and advice if needed. Barrow’s Helen Jones, who co-leads the weekly Little Buds and Baby Buds groups at the Baptist Church, recently qualified as a breastfeeding peer supporter.

“Breastmilk is the perfect food for a baby and as the baby grows, the milk changes to meet the baby’s needs,” she says.

“There are many additional benefits for mum and baby too: medically, emotionally, environmentally and economically.”

“I love what I do and every day is different,” she says. And she really is making a difference. It’s easy to go online to search for answers to your breastfeeding problems, but Helen, a mum of two who breastfed her own children, says you should get information from trusted sites only (see box below). While social media influencers may offer appealing and trendy advice, it may not be based on medical evidence, be suitable for you and your baby or it may be driven by commercial interests.

The UK has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the world, and while the NHS recommends exclusive breastfeeding for at least the frst six months, any amount is beneficial. However, Helen acknowledges that breastfeeding is also a choice. There may be medical, familial or social reasons why it is not chosen, or the mother may have to return to work - and the mother’s choice should be respected without judgement.

Besides offering front-line breastfeeding support in the community, Helen is also a senior pharmacist at the UK Drugs in Lactation Advisory Service, the national centre for information and advice on drugs and breastfeeding for healthcare professionals, based at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

It’s a job she clearly loves, assessing the safety of medications in breastfeeding.

Medicines that a breastfeeding mother is taking may pass into breast milk but taking medicines isn't necessarily a barrier to breastfeeding. The team of specialist pharmacists assess each case and provide bespoke advice as well as publishing more general national guidance. They are commonly asked about the management of conditions whilst breastfeeding, about very complex cases where babies are born prematurely, as well as the use of herbal products, illicit drugs and alcohol. They also get asked some more niche questions.

“Randomly, we’ve been asked a lot about the risks of consuming kettle de-scaler in breastfeeding! Often someone’s partner has cleaned the kettle and not told them and they make a cuppa, drink it then panic about the risks as they are breastfeeding!” Another unusual question that crops up frequently is about the risk of exposure to lead whilst breastfeeding. “People are often renovating old houses, stripping paint and have been exposed to lead which can pass into breast milk.”

Helen advises: “if you’re even unsure whether it’s okay to take a medicine and breastfeed seek trusted advice”.

As a specialist pharmacist, she presents on medicines use and breastfeeding at conferences and has recorded an episode for the Leicester ‘Maternity Matters’ podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/1pxhZcZH2fsegNJ8tUmrSm

“I love what I do and every day is different,” she says. And she really is making a difference.

Lindsay Ord