Point 7 - Promote co-operation

• All breastfeeding mothers should be informed which health professional(s) to contact for breastfeeding support and how to access this help.
• All breastfeeding mothers should be informed about how to contact a breastfeeding counsellor or support group for help with breastfeeding.
• All breastfeeding mothers should be informed about how they can access help with breastfeeding outside surgery/office hours (NB: This does not need to cover 24 hours).
• One or more interventions should be in existence to support mothers in the local community to sustain breastfeeding. The nature of the intervention(s) should be determined according to local need and using local knowledge, and may consist of peer support, telephone contact, informal groups or long-term one-to-one support (or a combination of any of these).
• All breastfeeding mothers should be informed about the local intervention(s) to support breastfeeding.

• A written description of the planned postnatal intervention(s), with a rationale for why it was/they were chosen.
• A written description of the mechanism for auditing and evaluating the postnatal intervention(s), which must include:
  • how many mothers accessed the intervention;
  • how long these mothers intended to breastfeed;
  • how long these mothers breastfed;
  • what difference the intervention made to those attending (qualitative data).
• A written description of the mechanism for informing mothers about how to contact/access the following means of support with breastfeeding:
  • a health professional
  • a breastfeeding counsellor or support group
  • help outside office hours
  • the local postnatal intervention(s).

Requirements at Stage 2:

• Staff to confirm that there is an adequate mechanism for ensuring that information on the progress of breastfeeding is passed from the midwife to the health visitor.

• Breastfeeding mothers to confirm that they have been informed of how to:
  • contact an appropriate health professional for support with breastfeeding
  • contact a voluntary breastfeeding counsellor and access any local support groups
  • access help with breastfeeding out of normal surgery/office hours.
• Mothers to confirm that they have been informed of how to:
  • contact an appropriate health professional for support with breastfeeding;
  • contact a voluntary breastfeeding counsellor and access any local support groups;
  • access help with breastfeeding out of normal surgery/office hours;
  • access the local postnatal intervention(s) to support breastfeeding.
• Evidence that the postnatal intervention(s) has/have been effectively audited and evaluated with action taken as required, based on the results.