Parents full of praise for NHFT support with their baby’s feeding journey
Most new parents find navigating the first weeks and months after the birth of a child a tricky and challenging experience. For Shannon Goff and her partner, the difficulties came when their little boy Ronnie suddenly began struggling to feed.
Fortunately, the young family from Irthlingborough were able to lean on the dedicated support of NHFT's Health Visiting and Infant Feeding teams - and happily those problems are now are a thing of the past. Reflecting on her experiences, Shannon has nothing but praise for the help they received.
"When Ronnie came I took to breastfeeding straight away - but almost overnight when he hit six weeks he started to struggle to latch. And that's when it started to become quite difficult," she remembers.
After sharing her concerns with her NHFT health visitor, Shannon was referred to the Infant Feeding team for further support. They offered advice and reassurance and also recommended she attend a specialist Latch Clinic to help with feeding technique.
Shannon says: "I was really emotional before going to see the Infant Feeding team - I kept thinking I'd done something wrong. But we came away feeling a lot better. It really gave us that peace of mind that it wasn't anything we were doing wrong.
"The Latch Clinic was lovely and we were made to feel really welcome. It was nice as well to see other women there who were having similar struggles. That made you feel like you weren't the only one going through it."
Shannon and her family have continued to be supported by the Health Visiting team as Ronnie, now approaching his first birthday, has grown - and they are delighted with the help they have received.
These services are all part of a wide range of support offered by NHFT for children and young people across Northamptonshire, from pregnancy and birth through to adulthood. The Trust also has Unicef Baby Friendly Gold status, the highest level of accreditation and celebrates excellent and sustained practice in the support of infant feeding and parent-infant relationships.
Video: Shannon and Ronnie's story
Find out more about Children and Young People Community Healthcare at NHFT