Mama Feelsgood

Be warned this is from ages ago but i just noticed i never scanned the original article in for you guys to see and i was checking out the Bristol Evening Post’s website and found this article they wrote on us last year.

I spotted today this article on the Guardian website today about Hooter Hiders , they are breastfeeding covers for nursing your baby in public ( BTW thanks to the lady who posted a comment recomending our breastfeeding tops  ) .

I just don’t get why they would be such a big issue about them? OK so if i am being honest they are not my cup of tea, and i know i am one of the most forgetful people never so i would go out and forget them but hey if ladies want to wear them then just wear them, anything which makes your breastfeeding experience better can only be a good thing? There is SO much pressure on ladies on how they should be feeding their babies ie breast Vs bottle i don’t think we need extra stress about what we wear whilst we do it.

Ok i sell nursing tops so you could say i am biased but i created Mama Feelsgood to provide an option for women who want a choice of maternity wear / nursing wear i’m not saying you Got to wear them, breastfeeding tops are like chocolate, you can live without it but it makes your life that little bit better ( ha ha well i suppose that depends upon if you like chocolate or not!).

i don’t know if it is the culture we live in here in the UK but people love to judge others and give their options, maybe it’s because shows such as the X Factor are popular where basically they have celebrities passing judgement on others we think it;s acceptable to do this in everyday life. If a lady likes to / feels more comfortable wearing a Hooter Hider or breastfeeding top then whats the problem?

What do you think?

We are super pleased to say Pregnancy & Birth magazine have featured our Island nursing top in the August edition of their magazine. It was in a review of the best nursing tops around and our breast feeding top got a Pregnancy & Birth love woo hoo, ie it was one of their favourites out of the 8 tops. I will scan the article in but if you want to check it out it is on page 90 of this current edition.

So they running a competition where they are giving away everything featured in the magazine ( well not sure if absolutely everything but loads of stuff) so why not enter, you can win tons of stuff for you and your baby and of course could pick up a Mama Feelsgood nursing shirt

Check out our Nursing Top page 90 !

Happy days!

I always knew Bristol was lush ! As you know we are based in lovely Bristol, a truly lovely part of the south west and it was on our regional news yesterday that Bristol has been deemed the most friendly baby city in the UK.

UNICEF has awarded this and it take quite a few factors into consideration, from the ante-natal care through to birth and after baby is born, through to breastfeeding help and advice.

NHS Bristol is the first PCT to gain the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative 

community accreditation. This is a city-wide staged approach to achieving 

best practice in supporting breastfeeding mothers.  

NHS Bristol joins both city maternity units in gaining the coveted Baby 

Friendly Award – presented to health care facilities which have implemented 

globally recognised standards for infant feeding – making Bristol the first Baby 

Friendly city in the country. 

The award means that mothers in the city are now being cared for by NHS 

staff trained to deliver best practice standards from the beginning of 

pregnancy, through birth and into the postnatal period. 

With less than 2% of babies being exclusively breastfed at six months, 

breastfeeding rates in the UK are amongst the lowest in the developed world.  

Evidence shows that breastfeeding is by far the best way to feed a baby, 

giving protection against many illnesses for both mother and baby. 

Implementing the Baby Friendly standards has been proven to increase 

breastfeeding rates. Since the start of the project, breastfeeding rates in 

Bristol have risen and more mothers are breastfeeding for longer.  

Dr Hugh Annett, Bristol’s director of public health said: “This is fantastic news 

for Bristol. It demonstrates the hard work going on in the NHS and with other 

agencies in the city to promote breast feeding. 

“We decided to join forces with UNICEF UK’s Baby Friendly Initiative to 

increase breastfeeding rates and to improve care for all mothers. 

“Breastfeeding protects babies against a wide range of serious illnesses 

including gastroenteritis and respiratory infections in infancy, as well as 

allergies, diabetes and obesity in childhood. We also know that breastfeeding 

reduces the mother’s risk of some cancers, as well as being cheaper and 

often easier than bottle-feeding.”  

To achieve this award, NHS Bristol has worked closely with the health visiting 

service through the North Bristol Trust Child Health Partnership, Bristol City 

Council, the maternity services, Barnardos and voluntary breastfeeding 

organisations. 

Other support for Bristol’s breastfeeding mothers includes: 

• A network of volunteer peer supporters who can support mums  

• Breastfeeding support groups where mothers can meet  each other  

and gain help and support 

• A ‘breastfeeding welcome’ scheme where cafes/restaurants and 

other premises sign up to say they welcome breastfeeding mothers. 

• A paid peer support scheme for mothers in 12 wards of the city with 

the lowest breastfeeding rates (beginning in the summer)  

• A scheme to promote breast feeding to teenage mothers (beginning 

in the summer) 

Sue Ashmore, UNICEF UK Baby Friendly director, added: “This is a 

momentous development for mothers and their babies – and for breastfeeding. 

Consistently good care around infant feeding from the beginning of pregnancy 

onwards should be something every woman can expect. Unfortunately this is 

often not the case. 

“But at last Bristol has shown it can be done. NHS Bristol has become the first 

PCT in the country to gain Baby Friendly accreditation and joins both city 

hospital maternity units, at St Michael’s Hospital and Southmead Hospital, in 

implementing evidence based best practice around infant feeding.  

“Bristol has worked incredibly hard to achieve this award ensuring that 

mothers and babies will be getting the care they deserve throughout the city, 

antenatally and postnatally.  We hope this news inspires the many other PCTs 

and hospitals currently working towards Baby Friendly status – it really can be 

done.”

OMG this heat we have been having has zapped me and i am not even pregnant (well not anymore , had Erin 11 weeks ago) so i can’t even imagine what it must be like to go to Glastonbury Festival when you are about to give birth literally…..

This article on Netmums recalls how a heavily pregnant mum went to the Glastonbury festival and went into labour there , went to local hospital the same day, had a baby boy and the next day went back to the festival….

I quote from netmums ” First-time mother Victoria Iremonger, 30, realised she was about to go into labour when she arrived at the festival site in Somerset on Wednesday.

She went to the Glastonbury medical tent where doctors confirmed that her waters had broken and she was ready to give birth.

Ms Iremonger wanted to have her baby at the festival site but medics insisted that an ambulance was called and she was taken to nearby Yeovil Hospital.

She eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Reuben, at 7.30pm on Thursday and then returned to the festival the next day.

Ms Iremonger, from Boston in Lincolnshire, said giving birth to her first child at Glastonbury was ‘amazing’.

Read more: http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/showthread.php?p=4677635?utm_medium=twitter#ixzz0s5OOpCEy 
Netmums – the local parenting network “

OMG have you seen the toilet at Glastonbury….. there is noway i would want to have my baby there. I know we are all different, wish i could have had my baby like that (not at Glastonbury) and got on with things, beats being in hospital for 3 days (had c section) , but man have  a baby at a music festival, i’m sure a lot are conceived there but not born.

Wish new mum and baby all the best, he is bound to grow up to be a true rocker

Maybe you did or didn’t know but it;s breastfeeding awareness week next week and lots of local NCT groups and other breastfeeding orgaisations have things in store to celebrate this.

Since  1993,  the National Breastfeeding Awareness Week (NBAW) has been run annually by the Department of Health as a key event for  promoting  breastfeeding.  The  main  aim  of the campaign is to raise  awareness of the health benefits of breastfeeding, increase  social  acceptance  of  breastfeeding  and  promote  support  for  breastfeeding. 

Berkshire NCT class are running a pass the parcel game to celebrate and Mama Feelsgood is going to donate a top to this , also bosom buddies the mid essex breastfeeding support group are having a raffle and we have donated a nursing top to this , so if you are in either of  these areas go check the groups out and see what ‘s going on, would be cool to meet other mums and make friends. Making friends at such a special time in your and your babies life can often result in friends for life.

Let us know what is going on in your local are for breastfeeding awareness week and we will spread the word

Hi guys 

well who would have thought a volcano in Iceland could have caused so much trouble!

Just a little heads up to all our foreign and Northern Ireland customers that there maybe the possibility of a delay in your nursing tops being delivered. We always use 1st class post but due to the grounding of the planes to some foreign countries and Northern Ireland there maybe a little back log in the postal deliveries. So when ordering if you could keep this in mind that would be fab

Hopefully soon things will be back to normal, 

Best wishes Liz

I mean it’s not like all girls are sat down at some time in their life and shown or told how to breastfeed, so how the heck are we supposed to know what to do?

I am just about to have my 2nd baby any day and have not had any advice or classes offered to me about breastfeeding, it is just assumed i know what to do! Not to get too personal but with my first child breastfeeding just didn;t work out for longer then 2 weeks (due to medical reasons) so now i’m ready to pop with my 2nd baby and want to nurse them but i can’t remember what the heck i did with my daughter !!!!!

So Google really is a wonderful thing and i found a video on You Tube which shows you what to do when you are just starting to breastfeed and gives you a little guidance as to what to expect etc.

I found it quite reassuring to watch and it was a help. Obviously it is only like 5 mins long and can’t go into great detail about every aspect of breastfeeding your baby but it’s a good start.

Here’s the link and see what you think:

As taken from #mce_temp_url# 

A young mum was thrown off a Bristol First bus – for breast-feeding her baby.

The driver stopped the bus and told her to stop feeding her six-week-old daughter or get off. And when she refused he threatened to call the police.

Amy Wootten, of Stockwood, was on her way home from the city centre on Tuesday when she was forced off the 54 bus in the rain.

She was ordered off the bus in Wells Road and took an £8 taxi for the rest of her journey home.

The 25-year-old said the driver told her a complaint had been made about her “indecent exposure”

Miss Wootten was feeding Emily at about 4.30pm on a packed bus when the driver threatened to call the police if she did not do as he asked.

She said: “The bus driver told me someone had said I was indecently exposing myself and said stop or get off my bus.

“It was like he was suggesting I was doing horrendous things. But I was being quite discreet about it.

“I couldn’t believe it. I explained that I was only feeding my baby and not exposing myself and the driver said ‘can you get off my bus please’.

“We were told to get off the bus, in the rain, at a stop without a shelter and I was still a 20-minute bus ride away and couldn’t have walked home. I felt completely and utterly humiliated, because it was a packed bus.”

The learning support assistant said no one raised concerns with her about the breast-feeding and the first she knew that anyone was concerned was when the driver spoke to her.

Miss Wootten said: “If I hadn’t fed her, Emily would have screamed and we would probably have had more complaints from people on the bus.

“I was showing a tiny bit of breast, but is it any different to showing your arm or your foot?

“I was absolutely horrified but more cross for my baby girl.”

Miss Wootten said she has fed Emily on buses before and although another passenger had made a comment there had not been such a reaction from the driver.

She relies on bus travel because she cannot drive.

Women are encouraged to breast-feed by the NHS because it has protective effects on them and their children.

There is an initiative in Bristol to encourage women to breast-feed and restaurants, cafes and other public places have signed up to show they welcome breast-feeding mums. Bristol was also the first city in the country to complete one of the stages for the Unicef Baby Friendly award.

The breast-feeding development manager for NHS Bristol, Nicki Symes, said: “There are about 200 venues around the city that welcome breast-feeding.

“We have not approached transport providers as part of the scheme but it is something we will need to do.

“I feel very sorry for this mother, as we support a woman’s right to breast-feed in public.

“It is really disappointing that this has happened and I would be happy to speak to the bus company about their policy.”

Miss Wootten complained to First yesterday and the company apologised for the incident and sent her flowers and gift vouchers.

She said: “I would like them to have a bit of tact and compassion.

“I have really struggled breast-feeding Emily and had so many problems but was determined to do the right thing for her.

“It just makes you really reluctant to feed in public.

“Emily is my first baby and it is only in the last two weeks I have had the confidence to feed her in public rather than sitting in a feeding room.”

First spokeswoman Karen Baxter said drivers would be given guidance to prevent similar incidents happening.

She said: “We are aware of the incident that occurred on Tuesday evening and have already expressed our sincere apologies to Miss Wootten for the distress caused as a result of it.

“We have launched an investigation into exactly what happened.

“As a company we accept that breast-feeding mothers have the right to feed their children when they are hungry, and understand that from time to time it may be necessary to do this while travelling on the bus.

A GROUP of women have been commended for completing a unique training course in how to help other mothers with breastfeeding.

The pilot scheme has been set up by health bosses as part of a drive to get parents to help each other with difficulties and problems with feeding, and to emphasise that “breast is best” for young babies’ diets.

According to NHS statistics, 43 per cent of mothers in west Essex breastfeed at six to eight weeks of their child’s birth, which is below the national average of 48 per cent.

The volunteers all took part in a 12-week course at the Abbeywood and Hazelwood Children’s Centres in Waltham Abbey, spending three hours a week learning how to become a “breastfeeding buddy” and how best to promote the practice in the local area.

Graduates of the course celebrated with a party earlier this week, featuring a cake in the shape of a pair of breasts supplied by Andersons bakery in Epping High Street.

Teresa Morgan, of NHS West Essex, which organised the course along with the children’s centres and the Breastfeeding Network group, congratulated the women for their hard work.

She added: “We hope this new initiative can go from strength to strength.”

Course trainer Jane Neesam said: “I hope more Waltham Abbey mothers will breastfeed with the support they need to maintain it for longer.

“It provides long lasting benefits for babies and mums themselves.”

For more information on breastfeeding support in west Essex call Jo Eley on 01279 698625 or Philippa Hyams on 0208 522 3217.

Article from here