Access to breastfeeding support improved for women experiencing health inequity 

 Healthy Babies UK (HBUK) has been improving the health and wellbeing of mothers and their babies through increased access to breastfeeding support, offering targeted antenatal sessions and peer support training specifically designed to support women from areas of deprivation in Mid Devon. 

100% of the women who participated said that the brief antenatal course helped them to breastfeed their baby, with 80% saying the course had helped them breastfeed their baby for longer than if had they not attended the course.   

Funded and supported by Health Innovation South West, the project aimed to reduce inequalities in breastfeeding, and evaluate the potential to spread the HBUK model to other areas. 

The project found that community services meet a valuable need for those who are mistrusting of statutory health provision or cannot afford private support. These services often don’t provide sufficient postnatal support and this was an area HBUK were particularly keen to address, wanting to create a judgement-free and open environment. 

One of the women who participated said: 

As a team, [Healthy Babies] have created a really safe […] non-judgmental space

Supporting the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies 

Targeted antenatal sessions were delivered to 24 women and 15 partners, some of whom were identified as likely to experience health inequity.  

A breastfeeding peer supporter training course was also provided to four women who had attended the antenatal course and had lived experience of health inequity, with particular emphasis on areas of deprivation in rural communities. 

The sessions gave women a better understanding of what to expect around giving birth and breastfeeding and focused on increasing the numbers of mothers who initiated and maintained breastfeeding for as long as they and their child wanted. 

Peer support groups were set up to allow women to socialise and to offer and receive support from others living with shared experiences.  

Following these sessions, one of the women said: 

It was nice to just be able to speak to other mums who had similar or totally different problems, but everyone had some kind of issue going on. And we’re persevering, and we’re just talking about it really openly. 

You can find out more by contacting our project lead, Sophie Luders. 

Next steps 

 
Health Innovation South West’s Innovator Support team has been helping HBUK to develop its substantial portfolio of products into a range of value propositions for different potential customers such as GPs, maternity leads and community partners.  

This has, in turn, led to more in-depth conversations with potential commissioners, which is expected to support the business to grow over the next few years. 

Find out more

Keep up to date with HBUK via their website, or to find out more, contact Programme Manager Sophie Luders.