Breastfeeding help in ED

[on_the_hill]

Hello everyone,

I am due with baby number 2 soon and would like to find out if you know of good breastfeeding consultants in East Dulwich as I had a very difficult time with baby number 1 when trying to get help when things went wrong. Although several people were willing to help with advice and suggestions, and I visited breastfeeding cafes, people were not able to spot the cause for the difficulties.

Any advice greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[Fuschia]

There is a small team

Of advisors at kings

Claire kedvers though I think she may be on sabbatical

And Joanne Joseph I think is the other

If you have cause to go to kings for any reason late in pregnancy you could visit them / they are directly above the Antenatal clinic

Or call them now for a chat

Obviously getting to kings with a newborn isn't so eAsy but they are the experts and can diagnose and refer for Tongue tie for eg

[Fuschia]

If your baby is born in kings you could see them

Before you are discharged

You can

Probably insist on staying in until you are happy bf is established

I would def call them

Now and talk it through

What do you think your problems were last time? X

[on_the_hill]

Thanks a lot for your replies, I will get in touch with Kings, as I've been waiting to get a date to come to their BF workshop but it hasn't come through yet.

We are still not quite sure what the problem last time was. That is what makes me feel quite anxious about it. There were a couple of things that in retrospect could have been the cause: nipple shape and baby's neck being stiff (he had osteopathy and physiotherapy to correct this later on).

Things may go smoothly this time, but want to know where to go in case I need to.

Thanks again for your help

[ladyruskin]

If you haven't heard back from the BFing workshops by the time you are 35/6 weeks it's worth giving them a ring so that they can get you on a course asap. I don't have the number to hand unfortunately but it's the same as that for Joanne & Claire.

[hellosailor]

Not sure how reliably the referrals to Claire Kedves /joanne are working at the mo - I was referred by my GP for breastfeeding help and to check out possible tongue tie a couple of months ago, plus backed up the official referral by leaving an answerphone message for them myself at the same time (as suggested by GP) and heard nothing back from either route. Since heard from a friend that Claire is on sabbatical, though from memory I think it was June she was supposed to be returning so maybe things will be running more smoothly.

I've been told by several people including the HVs at Townley Rd clinic that there is a great midwife called Anna at the Rosendale Rd breastfeeding drop-in clinic who is apparently fab at helping people over breast feeding probs and also, worth mentioning, an expert at spotting tongue tie for babies that may be relevant to. Just googled and found these contact details..seems like maybe a good option if Claire Kedves not possible at the mo

Breastfeeding drop in- Rosendale Children?s Centre ( Rosendale school), Rosendale Rd, SE21, Weds 10-12pm, Tel Anna on 07791404502

x

[sillywoman]

0208 3299 3833 The sessions are very useful as a basic background to breastfeeding & some of the issues that breastfeeding women might encounter, but I hear good things of a number of locally based 'lactation consultants' if things do go awry again - if you do a search on this forum a number of threads with contact details come up.

Otherwise I recommend you get hold of details of all the local breastfeeding cafe's & drop in clinics - there's somewhere to go for help every week day.

[Fuschia]

I would leave a few messAges if necessary at kings

Claire seemed to do her phone calls 7-8pm evenings!

When she was away someone else cLled me and left info on my phone

Hope Claire is back soon

She really is an expert

[uptime]

If you want to see someone privately and can face a 20 minute drive I can wholeheartedly recommend Katie Fisher who is a lactation consultant based in Croydon and costs around ?30 per consultation. Her number is 07949176776. I went to see her because my baby had tongue tie and she carried out the post-op checks and procedures. We also had a few other problems, all of which she helped me to resolve - including writing letters to my GP so that I got the correct treatment for an infection. She was happy to see me at weekends, and at short notice, and she texted me in between to check on our progress. I also attended the Townley road bf cafe, which was good, but I found Katie provided more 'medical' support which is what I needed. Good luck with it.

[jollybaby]

There are a couple of private lactation consultants that have been well recommended on here too . . . I know in the early days a trip up to kings or even a breast feeding cafe would have been the last thing I could face. I can't find the thread at the moment but hopefully one of the ladies who used them will post their contact details.

Cross posted!

[Pickle]

With my son (now 4.5) I struggled to find help through the NHS/Kings channels with breastfeeding - he was tongue tied and it wasn't picked up until he was about 6+ weeks old. I remember being in tears calling every number on every piece of paper I had been given, and still not getting any useful advice or appointments.

I used a private lactation consultant (Jill Dye), who came to my house and was very helpful. I've recommended her a lot on the forum and know a number of other ladies here have used her.

Hopefully if you need support you will find it locally, but if not, there are other options.

P x

[simonethebeaver]

Thanks for this thread-just what I needed. I have a 5 week old who has been diagnosed with tongue tie by the HV. She referred us to King's on Friday-any idea how long we'll wait to be snipped?

Once we're done, I want to make sure her latch is right so I know we're on the right track from now on.

[Pickle]

It shouldn't take long for baby's tongue to be snipped if you're in the system - these days I think it may even be done there and then (some with more recent experience will be able to help with a more definite answer).

Don't expect a miracle cure, it will take time and perserverance for you to get things right afterwards - in all honestly I would say it was at least 4 or 5 weeks before breastfeeding my son was a pain-free experience for me (although his operation wasn't done till he was 8 weeks, so quite late). It's definitely worth getting some help after the operation.

Good luck x

[Moos]

My 2nd was diagnosed with tongue tie at birth (by me, then confirmed by midwives & later Claire K). His was a comparatively mild posterior tie. I chased the system quite hard and he had the operation at 3 weeks.

Breastfeeding was much less painful within a day or so and all going well in about a week. Some other women in the same clinic with more severe or anterior ties reported an immediate improvement - literally tears of joy and relief.

Good luck!

[on_the_hill]

Wow, thank you so much for all your posts, much appreciated!

I have made a list here for anyone looking for help that may be useful, just compiling all your advice:

1. Kings lactation consultants: Claire Kedves (on annual leave, back end June) and Joanne Joseph: 020 3299 3833 - located above the antenatal clinic at Kings Hospital.

2. Breastfeeding drop in sessions - specialising in tongue tie diagnosis: Anna on 07791 404 502 at Rosendale Children?s Centre ( Rosendale school), Rosendale Rd, SE21, Weds 9.30 to 11.30pm and Caroline at Peckham Library, 5th floor on Thursdays 10 to 11:30am

3. Lactation consultant based in Croydon: Katie Fisher on 07949176776 ?60/2 hour consultation and ?30 for the snip.

4. Lactation consultant that can come and visit at your home: Jill Dye. I have e-mailed her to find out what her fees are and contact details, will post once I receive her answer.

Also found a link with some local info: http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CB4QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nct.org.uk%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Frelated_documents%2FBFSUPPORTmarch10.doc&rct=j&q=kings%20lactation%20consultant%20clare%20kedves&ei=PJQATueKAsTRhAekpdijDQ&usg=AFQjCNENrVtFo1gth88z0cJPPw5EW67WiA&sig2=6Wevq0dsCBYLJ5lPXCnLVw

Thanks again.

Edited to correct Katie phone number and current fees.

[Jacks50]

My daughter was tongue tied and it wasn't spotted for ages - a doc and a number of midwives checked for TT and said she wasn't. It wasn't until I paid for Jill Dye to come and visit that she was said DD was TT.

I then went to my GP who referred me to the Pediatric department at kings, so I wait weeks and weeks for an appointment. However while waiting for an appointment I went to one of the breast feeding clinics to get some help and the HV referred us to the tongue tie clinic at kings and we went within 2 weeks. They did the snip on my daughter at the clinic at the first appointment, which was a nightmare!! I think she was too old by this time and I found the whole experience absolutely awful However, Just about everyone else I know or spoke to about it found it very straight forward with no probs at all.

My advice, after 3 children, one who breast feed really well and two who were very difficult is that you might not get the help you need at kings as they are so busy, but the breastfeeding clinics and Jill Dye were amazing and very helpful.

Also, not everyone medical person can spot a tongue tie, so if you are having trouble, get to a BF clinic and ask them to check, or better still, get Jill over, she's amazing and so cheap for what she does!

Good luck!

[Fuschia]

My fourth baby wouldn't feed

It was just before Xmas so in the end I saw the Tongue tie doc privately and paid for the snip, about ?500 iirc

It usually requires two prime to confirm the tt and a wait if a couple of weeks

Our problem was never pain, it was a posterior tt and arched palate

After the snip it got worse before if got better - af one point hd was 100% on ebm but finally at 6w I could actually say he was s breastfed baby!

[citizenED]

And there is also Verona Hall who is a local midwife and Lactation Consultant

[karter]

Another recommendation here for Verona Hall, a lovely lovely lady.

[on_the_hill]

Just wanted to thank everyone again as all the info here has proved very valuable to me. I asked for local BF help before my baby was born and it has all been extremely useful now that he is here.

We did have problems with BF and got in touch with Katie Fisher who diagnosed and treated tongue tie. Just wanted to say that the whole consultation + procedure + post-op checks were ?120, so if you can afford it and do not want to wait for Kings clinic she does it at her home in Croydon. She works at Kings, so she can do it through the NHS there as well, but you need some referral procedure.

I have also been in touch with Jill Dye who has been amazing. She has been emailing me while on holiday and has been very supportive.

I also wanted to add a link to another thread in the forum which I found very informative and moving, where someone has written all her experiences and difficulties with BF http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,570543,570543#msg-570543

Thanks again and if anyone needs any more info please feel free to send me a PM. I cannot promise to answer straight away but will do as soon as I can.

[Vickster]

Can also highly recommend Jill Dye. I would not have got to where I am (6months) without her helP and support.

[Pickle]

I'm so pleased you found all this information helpful, that's great. Jill Dye was a life saver for me, it's great to hear that so many others have had positive experiences too. Her number is in my phone just in case I need help with #3!

[uptime]

Congratulations on your new baby on_the_hill. Glad to hear that you're getting the support you need and can enjoy this really special time.

[cornelia]

On a similar note - does anyone know of a GP or even paediatrician in ED who is supportive of breastfeeding (by which I mean supportive when you're having problems, not just if it's all going well)? My experience of the NHS so far is that lip service is paid to bf support, but when my baby was born this Easter the solution offered for all my problems was simply bottles of formula, and NHS midwives, GPs, paeds and HVs all seemed to think breastmilk and artificial baby milk was much of a muchness with no real benefit to breastfeeding(!) As it was Easter and then the Royal Wedding long weekend, none of the usual support groups were running... hence my interest in finding a helpful GP ideally in case there is a next time...

[Pickle]

I'm so glad this thread exists... 99.9% certain that my new baby daughter is tongue tied just like her brother was 5 years ago. I rang Katie Fisher thus evening and have an appointment to see her on Sunday where she will diagnose and snip. With two other children to look after I don't have the time/energy to go through the Kings route, so figure ?90 is worth it fir a quick resolution this time round.