To coincide with the start of World Breastfeeding Week, Barrow Nurse, Kimberley Jones, has been presented with South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support’s Breast Friend Award for 2018.
This award is made to an NHS Health Professional in South Cumbria who has been nominated by a local mum for having really supported her on her breastfeeding journey. A mum’s breastfeeding success isn’t just down to whether or not she wants to breastfeed; the support that she gets from those around her makes a huge difference. South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support’s Breast Friend Award highlights the importance of breastfeeding support from Health Professionals and celebrates good practice. It’s a way of saying a big thank you to NHS staff for the work that they do in supporting mums to have the breastfeeding experience that they want to have.
Kimberley Jones, Staff Nurse at Furness General Hospital (FGH), was nominated by local mum Christina, for the wonderful support that she received when her son Seth spent time in FGH’s Special Care Baby Unit when he was a newborn. In her nomination, Christina writes:
“Kimberley helped me get Seth from tube fed to breast fed within just a couple of days. When Seth was born, he was seriously ill and had to be fed through a tube. I was really struggling to get him to latch on and breastfeed and also feeling overwhelmed having to juggle this with his older brother, who was four and is autistic. I was ready to put Seth on bottles if it helped to get him off the tube and home, but Kim helped me to slow down and persevere with breastfeeding as she knew that’s what I really wanted. She helped me take an objective view and went above and beyond in her kindness and patience.
“She helped me to explain Seth’s tube to my older son and made me feel like I had time to get to grips with breastfeeding. She arranged for me to stay the night with baby so that I could try all his night feeds, encouraged me and gave me confidence that this was going to work. Kim made sure I had a comfortable space and she encouraged skin to skin contact with Seth. We kept trying different methods, with and without the tube until he was ready to latch and feed. Kim was so resourceful, knowledgeable, flexible and patient, when she could have easily just sent us away with bottles. She made everything feel like it wasn’t too much trouble, even though I’m sure she was going out of her way for us.
“He is still very happily breastfeeding now at 15 months old. In that time it has provided all the usual benefits but also helped him work through his brain injury from birth and comforted him through colds and illnesses. We couldn’t have done it without someone like Kim. She was there for us when we needed her and I’ve never forgotten her role in our breastfeeding journey. I’d love to be able to say a very special ‘thank you’.”
The judging panel felt that this nomination showed very clearly how the time spent by a health professional in supporting a mum who wants to breastfeed can have a powerfully positive and lasting impact on a family. South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support would like to thank Kimberley Jones, and all our local Health Professionals, for the work they do in supporting mums to breastfeed.
Sue Smith, Executive Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We are really lucky at UHMBT because we have some amazing staff, just like Kimberley, who go over and above to make sure that women’s choices are listened to and supported wherever we can. On behalf of the Trust, I’d like to congratulate Kimberley on this great achievement – you really do deserve it!
“We’d also like to thanks Christina, little Seth and the whole family for taking the time to recognise Kimberley, and wish them all the best for the future.”
Local mums can make a nomination for the 2018/19 Breast Friend Award at www.cumbriabreastfeeding.org.uk/breastfriend.
South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support runs free mums’ groups in Kendal, Ulverston and Windermere.
Full details are here: www.cumbriabreastfeeding.org.uk/groups.
The theme for 2018 World Breastfeeding Week was ‘BREASTFEEDING: Foundation of Life’.
For more information, visit: http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/.