Breastfeeding education for pregnant woman Breastfeeding education and support sessions Take a partner or another support person to a session What is covered in a session? Gain confidence through discussions with other pregnant mums Back to the Getting ready page Breastfeeding education and support sessions It helps to attend a breastfeeding education session if there is one available. Ask a midwife, obstetrician, GP or local maternity facility if they have any information about these useful sessions. These sessions are usually free and some centres have sessions for Māori, Pacific Island women and also young mothers’ groups. It may also be helpful to attend a breastfeeding support group such as La Leche League. Back to top Take a partner or another support person to a session Take a partner or another support person to a breastfeeding education session if possible, as it helps if other important people hear the same messages so that they are in a better position to provide support for breastfeeding. This can avoid the confusion that new mothers often talk about – lots of conflicting advice that can make it difficult to decide what is helpful and what is not so helpful for breastfeeding. Back to top What is covered in a session? In these breastfeeding education sessions there is a mixture of information available about multiple aspects of breastfeeding. This includes health benefits for mothers and babies about how breasts work, how perfect milk is made for an individual baby, how breastfeeding works, how to get off to a good start and lots of practical tips about positioning and attaching a baby to the breast for a feed. Back to top Gain confidence through discussions with other pregnant mums An advantage of spending even a short time with a group of pregnant mums talking about breastfeeding is that sharing questions and answers in a group situation can help women gain more confidence, feel they are not alone and some of the discussion topics can be very helpful. Breastfeeding mothers sometimes take part in these group sessions so the chance to see ‘breastfeeding in action’ during the session may be available. Breastfeeding advice is usually accessible at parent education sessions in most areas. Ask a Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) midwife about this. Back to top Back to the Getting ready page Website feedback We welcome your feedback on this page.

Where to get help Midwives Healthline - 0800 611 116 Well Child La Leche League More information on these and other breastfeeding help providers...

Page last reviewed: 31 July 2009