Hospitals’ first Lactation Consultant on hand to offer expert feeding advice to new parents

Hospitals’ first Lactation Consultant on hand to offer expert feeding advice to new parents image Becky Davenport in her dark blue uniform, pictured at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

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Tuesday 30 July 2024

New parents across the county will benefit after a midwife at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust gained the highest breastfeeding support qualification available.

Becky Davenport, the Trust’s Infant Feeding Specialist Midwife, is now a qualified Lactation Consultant having recently passed the International Board of Certified Lactation Consultant Examiners’ (IBCLE) rigorous 12-month course.

With this week marking World Breastfeeding Week, Becky is now passing on her knowledge and expertise to new families who may need additional support and advice to feed their baby, as well as her fellow maternity colleagues – and supporting two other Trust midwives who are now studying for the qualification themselves.

Becky said: “I am delighted to have passed the course – it was a tough 12 months and a difficult exam but I am thrilled that after 26 years as a midwife and 12 years as a feeding specialist, I now have an even deeper understanding of lactation and feeding. It proves that you never stop learning!

“We are tending to see more complex feeding concerns and I hope this offers even more assurance to new parents that they have expert feeding advice and problem solving available to them if they need it. We are looking forward to enhancing the skills of two further members of the team and our eventual aim is to be able to set up a dedicated complex feeding clinic at the Trust.”

Justine Jeffery, Director of Midwifery at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “I would like to congratulate Becky on a wonderful achievement – this is the highest qualification you can gain in breastfeeding support and shows our commitment to infant feeding. It’s great news both for the Trust and most importantly for our new parents and families.”

The Trust’s infant feeding service supports new parents with feeding concerns up to six weeks after birth. More information is available at www.worcsacute.nhs.uk/maternity-services/