Breastfeeding Preparation
This is a private antenatal breastfeeding class tailored to your requirements and includes email support afterwards. We look at the importance of skin to skin for bonding and breastfeeding, at babies’ feeding cues, at how breastmilk production works, how to tell your baby is getting enough milk, how to achieve good positioning and attachment and why it is so crucial. I explain the baby-led, Biological Nurturing technique, a new approach to breastfeeding, which makes use of babies’ innate behaviours and neonatal reflexes. As well as addressing your individual concerns, I provide lots of breastfeeding resources, recommend books and inform you of the latest research. This session last approximately 3 hours.
Several women who struggled to breastfeed their first baby found attending this individualised workshop enabled them to have the breastfeeding journey they wanted with their second child.
£180 - one-to-one or one-to-two antenatal breastfeeding preparation via Zoom or in person at my home in NW6.
£320 - one-to-one or one-to-two antenatal breastfeeding preparation via Zoom plus a home visit after the baby’s birth.
Feedback from 1st time mothers
Rachel
“You gave my partner Andrew and me your introduction to breastfeeding presentation back in May, ahead of the birth of our son Jude. Thank you so much for that; it was a fascinating session and set us up really well for our breastfeeding journey. We had a dream birth in July (in the pool at the birth centre!) but unfortunately Jude developed an infection that evening, and then jaundice, which along with some intense engorgement for me made breastfeeding difficult in the first week. But your guidance had given us knowledge and confidence - we persevered and advocated for ourselves, and managed to breastfeed throughout our stay in hospital. We made constant referral to the links and info you shared with us.
We've been doing really well since then, Jude and I love breastfeeding and have had no further issues. I've never pumped (too much faff for me!), so we just feed on the go wherever and whenever, in the sling, on the tube, from funerals to funfairs. It's been liberating and wonderful. The NWL Breastfeeding Facebook group has also been invaluable as a resource - I've searched past posts for info when things come up, and someone has almost always already asked the same things I'm wondering. We also refer to your website and Padlets when I have questions.
Holly
“I am so glad I attended Cordelia's breastfeeding workshop before the birth of my first baby. I'd have been completely clueless without it, and I'm sure I would have found it all overwhelming. Breastfeeding can be surprisingly complex and challenging: education and support is essential for new parents, even (perhaps especially) before the baby arrives. Cordelia's workshop provides just that.”
Sophie
"When I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with my son, I began to feel anxious about breastfeeding and had so many unanswered questions, which my antenatal classes just hadn’t covered.
I called Cordelia and she so graciously welcomed me into her home. It was such a relief to talk and interact over a cup of tea and biscuits. We practised everything including nursing positions, latching, the breast crawl, hand expressing and then talked about all my concerns, fears and excitement. In addition to the hands on practice, she left me with insightful reading materials and website links, access to supportive breastfeeding groups and invaluably - her confident voice to call on anytime I needed help or advice.
My son is now 15 months old and thanks to all the support provided by Cordelia, he still loves to nurse and I am still in love with breastfeeding!
Cordelia - you made my transition to motherhood so much easier; you are very gifted and we will be forever grateful for your time, energy, gentle approach, endless knowledge and above all, your passion for the special bond between mother and baby."
Rachel
"The session with Cordelia before the birth allowed me to express my fears about my ability to breastfeed which, for me, was closely connected with my confidence in being a mother. Cordelia has a calm, knowledgeable and caring approach. I particularly found hearing of other new mothers' experiences very helpful. The session helped me to be absolutely confident as I approached the birth day that I would successfully breastfeed my baby. I'm sure my confidence & calmness helped the breastfeeding process particularly in the first few days. My son first breastfed in the delivery room and 3 months on is a happy, thriving breastfed baby."
Sharon
“Ryan and I attended a 1:2 breastfeeding course with Cordelia before our daughter was born. Before the course we knew we wanted to breastfeed if we could, but we were otherwise clueless! Cordelia’s course was excellent - so informative and perfectly pitched. After the course we felt fully informed about the benefits of breast feeding, and positive about embarking on breastfeeding as soon as our baby daughter was born. Most importantly we knew where to get help and support in the early weeks. One piece of advice that Cordelia gave that stuck with me was that breast feeding was something that both Mum and baby would be learning to do at the same time. That really helped me keep things in perspective in those first weeks and to stay patient. I couldn’t recommend the course (or the follow up support at the weekly dro- in sessions) highly enough. Thank you Cordelia (and team)! Your support and breastfeeding wisdom have been an absolute Godsend.”
Laura
“Cordelia talked us through breastfeeding, bringing a lot of props and leaving lots of informational material for us. The session was very helpful, leaving me certain of being able to breastfeed our daughter. And in fact this is what happened. As soon as she was born she latched on well, thanks to what I learned from Cordelia. I find myself well informed about breastfeeding and able to identify wrong advice (which is also sometimes given by doctors).
I also found it extremely helpful to read a few of books she recommended and I'm very pleased with the sling we bought which was among those recommended by her.
I am particularly grateful for the help and support Cordelia offered postnatally: she helped in recognising and solving a problem that was wrongly diagnosed by doctors.”
Mazie
"I met with Cordelia when I was 8 months pregnant and she taught me everything I needed to know about breastfeeding. She prepared me for that first moment when I was handed my son, James, at the hospital for his first feed. I immediately knew what to do and James latched on successfully. The midwives couldn't believe how knowledgeable I was about breastfeeding. Cordelia was also there to support me (and my husband!) when I got home from the hospital and for months afterwards with advice and encouragement. Breastfeeding can be a struggle at the beginning but thanks to Cordelia, I had the tools and the confidence to continue breastfeeding."
Rachel
“Thank you so much for your time on Thursday. We learned a huge amount and came out of the session feeling much more informed and prepared! I'm excited to begin our breastfeeding journey, and hope all goes smoothly...but we know where we can turn if it doesn't.”
Feedback from 2nd time mothers
Sarah
“Cordelia has made my breastfeeding journey a successful and enjoyable one. We have worked together over the past two years with both my children - and both times I have found her advice to be invaluable. She has always been so patient, clear, informed and research-led. She also showed me that all the “bells and whistles” gadgets we are sold, from nipple shields to dummies, can often be a distraction and complicate a feeding process unnecessarily.
As a first time mum, I faced a lot of obstacles when it came to breastfeeding. I was unprepared - and had a night nurse who made it even harder by encouraging formula feeding at night for my “big” child. With Cordelia’s help and guidance, I was able to breastfeed my child for more than a year.
For my second child, I did Cordelia’s one-to-one breastfeeding preparation session. Now, a few weeks in with baby number two, I’m finding it so much easier without the “pump”, “shields”, “steriliser” and all the other gadgets we are exposed to. Whenever I have a doubt or question, she is always available to provide support and guidance - which is so appreciated. She has reminded me what a natural and beautiful bonding process breastfeeding can be - supporting me with latching and positioning amongst so many many other things, something our health system could use a lot more of. I will be forever grateful, thank you Cordelia. x”
Angeliki
“I didn’t manage to breastfeed my first daughter due to a number of reasons - amongst which was lack of knowledge and preparation- so when I got pregnant again I promised myself that I would do everything I could to give myself the best chance of success with my second baby. Amongst other things, I decided to approach Cordelia for an antenatal breastfeeding session based on her great reputation; but I did not know exactly what to expect - I had read so much on the topic by that point that I was not sure what more the session could add. I was totally wrong! Despite all my reading, the session with Cordelia was very informative and insightful, preemptively covered every possible question I had and provided guidance for all common breastfeeding issues; all in all, it brought together everything one possibly needs to know about breastfeeding to feel confident and prepared. Cordelia also followed up after our session with a number of resources as well as her fantastic presentation, all of which I saved down and looked at again and again the first days after my second daughter was born. Just knowing that I had all this information consolidated at my fingertips gave me so much confidence that I could make things work! And there was not a single thing that came up in the early days that I felt I didn’t have the answer to it or at least a way to approach it!
I supplemented the antenatal breastfeeding session with a home visit by Cordelia after my daughter was born where we worked on a number of positions and ensured that the latch was correct and comfortable. Cordelia’s calm way in conjunction with her patience and experience helped me overcome any issues I had and provided me with the reassurance I needed to keep on going!
These sessions were the best gift to my daughter and myself and I simply cannot recommend them enough!”
Update from Angeliki: “By the way, I have been meaning to text you with an update: breastfeeding with my daughter was a dream, lasted until she turned 12 months, it ended very gently and naturally and cannot thank you enough for the massive role you played in it 🙏”
Lorraine
“I had a very bad experience breastfeeding my first child and only managed to do it for four weeks. I knew if I was to be successful breastfeeding my second child, I needed to have the best advice and support possible. Cordelia definitely provided that. I booked two 1-2-1 sessions, one before baby number two arrived and one a day after he was born, and have since been to a couple of her drop-in Tuesday sessions. The 1-2-1 sessions set me up to be able to breastfeed. They were tailor-made sessions where we discussed how I could prevent the issues I had with my first baby and then practiced different positions with baby number 2 once he arrived. After the sessions, I felt like I knew the basics of breastfeeding, which gave me the confidence to keep going! After the terrible experience I had with baby number one, I never thought I could be one of those mothers I saw out and about breastfeeding their children, but now I am one of them. I am so grateful to Cordelia for all the support she has provided. Baby number 2 is grateful too. He is 9 weeks old and thriving!”
Rachel
“Why I found having a session with Cordelia really helpful the second time round: I'd completely forgotten all my first-time knowledge from my NCT course (my first bad experience seemed to wipe my memory, plus I think having a baby just makes you forget stuff anyhow!) - so actually going over the basics was really useful (how to position baby, different positions to try etc).
Being with Cordelia was calming and positive and 'reset' me - I was really anxious after feeling I'd failed first time, and Cordelia was great at just reminding me how every baby/person is different, and that because last time hadn't gone the way I wanted it to did NOT mean that this time would be the same. And that in fact the stats and Cordelia’s experience suggested it was much more likely to be positive this time. It just flipped my slightly doomy feeling about it!
Being with Cordelia reinforced my (already strong) belief that breastfeeding is definitely worth working at, not just for days but weeks and months, because the benefits are so great. And I definitely had a few problems in the first few weeks - but I just kept calm and kept going rather than freaking out about it.
And on that last point: Cordelia helped me calm down and feel less anxious about breastfeeding, as she reminded me that if it didn't work straight away IT WASN'T AN EMERGENCY, I actually had all the time in the world to get it right. And importantly that I really didn't need to listen to well-meaning friends and Health Visitors saying: “If it doesn't work for you, why put yourself through it again, Freddie was fine with formula wasn't he?”, and all that stuff they think is helpful but isn't.
Cordelia helped me deal with my partner being quite unsupportive of breastfeeding (in a supportive way - i.e. he had seen how upset I was first time round and wanted to 'protect' me from being upset again by saying I didn't have to try again and could just make life easy for myself and go straight to formula. Well-meaning but not what I wanted!)
Cordelia played me an amazing video of the baby latching on straight after birth - crawling up the mum's tummy and doing it by themselves - and that made me stick to my birth plan demand for 2 hours of undisturbed post birth time (NO cord cutting, weighing, anything going on at all apart from my baby being with me). And it happened!!
I picked up some really handy tips I didn't know/had never been told first time -especially the one about giving the baby's feet something to rest against/push against helping the latch. I still do this with Theo 20 months on, even though he obviously knows how to latch - we both find it very comfy and comforting.
Second time round I really felt it was my choice, my body, my birth, my baby. My midwives didn't always agree with me. Cordelia reinforced and strengthened my resolve and my power to ensure I wouldn't let them have it their way, when their way wasn't what I wanted.
Lastly - it was just great for me to reconnect with Cordelia. She and all the amazing women working with her were my lifeline first time round when I was feeling so down - but it took me time to find her! Second time round I had my support network in place and I knew I had the phone numbers and people I needed in place if and when I needed them. Just knowing I had the support I needed come what may made me feel so much more confident.
I would really recommend a session with Cordelia to any mum who had a difficult first-time experience with breastfeeding. I'm still breastfeeding 20 months on, which I NEVER thought I would be and am soooo glad about for so many reasons.”