EFFORTS by council staff to help new parents have been recognised by UNICEF UK who have given Swindon special accreditation.

The council’s Health Visitor and Family Nurse Partnership teams are now classed as being Baby Friendly following a series of assessments.

An evaluation took place in May, looking at how mothers are supported in feeding their babies, how accessible information is and the help available for parents building relationships with their new-born children.

Chloe Giles, 18, was one of those who was supported Family Nurse Partnership team to continue breastfeeding her three-month-old daughter Addie.

Addie began to lose weight shortly after birth as she could not latch on to take breastmilk from her mother, who then found blood in her daughter’s stools.

The council referred Chloe, of Toothill, to a specialist who discovered her daughter was lactose intolerant.

“Breastfeeding was something that I always intended to do and I really did not want to use a bottle to feed Addie,” she said.

“I was told that in order to continue to breastfeed, I would need to change my diet.

“I was determined to continue, so I altered what I ate to cut out dairy products so Addie could have my breastmilk.

“I was also taught different feeding techniques and positions, which really helped Addie to latch on – she has now put on a lot of weight and I am so pleased that I continued to breastfeed.

“I really appreciated the support I received as it helped me so much to breastfeed Addie, which is what I wanted to do all along.”

The Baby Friendly Environment was introduced in Swindon six years ago, with support for parents delivered via home visits and centres across Swindon

There is also peer-to-peer assistance from Breastmates and support from National Childbirth Trust breastfeeding counsellor volunteers.

To be accredited services need to be compliant with The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, a worldwide policy to regulate the promotion of breastmilk substitutes to protect breastfeeding.

Councillor Fionuala Foley (Con, Chiseldon and Lawn), the cabinet member for children’s services, said: “It is fantastic that our services to assist parents with the extremely important processes of nurturing and feeding new babies has been assessed as meeting the very high UNICEF UK standards.

“Some parents do require an additional level of support in this area and I am sure those we assist will find it reassuring that we have received this accreditation.

“It is also a brilliant achievement for all of our dedicated staff in this area of the council who work so well with parents and I would like to congratulate them for the services they provide being declared Baby Friendly.”