Baby Feeding Service

There are two aspects to Rural Canterbury PHO’s Baby Feeding Service:

• Community-Based Lactation Consultation Support Service

  Specialist support provided in the community for mothers with complex breastfeeding issues.

  Click here to read more.

• Mother4Mother Peer Support Programme

  Support for breastfeeding mothers provided by other trained mothers with breastfeeding experience.

  Click here to read more.

The whole-of-Canterbury service, first established in 2008, was developed to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. It aims to:

• Increase breastfeeding rates in Canterbury
• Increase the breastfeeding support for mothers in Canterbury
• Improve infant nutrition through breastfeeding
• Improve breastfeeding rates for Maori and Pacific infants by ensuring support and services that are accessible and appropriate for them
• Increase Canterbury women’s access to Lactation Consultants, particularly Maori and Pacific, young women, women residing in NZ Dep 8-10 areas and rural women
• Increase the knowledge of relevant health care providers in Canterbury about the breastfeeding support available to their clients, guidelines for referral, and the referral process
• Facilitate a volunteer mother to mother peer support breast feeding programme
• Link mothers to breastfeeding support groups