Jessica Thorpe IBCLC

07/06/2025

Simeticone (infacol) is no more effective than a placebo, and is not recommended but the NICE guidelines for treatment of colic.

02/04/2025

Babywearing is wonderful but make sure your baby is correctly positioned in the sling or carrier. Incorrectly fitted slings can be dangerous.

Carrier height matters. Babies have large heavy heads with a prominent occipital bone at the back which can be easily pushed forwards by fabric/panels, forcing the chin onto the chest and obstructing airway. This can happen in loose carriers also as baby curls forward and sinks down.

The ideal height is at the nape of the neck so the head is free to move and airway is open. The body of the carrier must be snug to support the chest.

Carrier height can be too low: small/young/sleeping babies need support to their upper back. Older awake babies who have trunk control may enjoy arms out (typically the age they can be perched on the hip and held with one arm).

Please see your local sling library for support if your carrier is too tall or loose. If your baby has a floppy head, let us help you, *don’t be tempted to put the panel height up*. Usually the carrier needs tightening around the chest or the carrier may too big for your baby. See the link below for more information and help/suggestions.

https://www.carryingmatters.co.uk/safe-carrier-height/



Thanks to Ronnie's Creative for the gorgeous artwork

16/03/2025

Breastfeeding isn’t just for the first year—it’s a dose-dependent biological process that continues to provide critical health benefits for as long as it’s sustained. The idea that breast milk somehow “loses” its value after infancy is simply false. In fact, the immunological, neurological, and emotional benefits increase the longer a child breastfeeds.

Breast milk doesn’t just supplement nutrition in toddlerhood—it actively adapts to meet a growing child’s needs. The antibodies, probiotics, stem cells, and growth factors in breast milk continue to protect against infections, boost gut health, and support brain development well beyond the first year. Studies show that children who breastfeed longer have lower rates of respiratory and ear infections, better emotional regulation, and even a reduced risk of chronic diseases later in life.

For mothers, the benefits of extended breastfeeding are just as powerful. The longer a mother breastfeeds, the greater the protection against breast and ovarian cancer, heart disease, metabolic disorders, and osteoporosis. The hormonal balance created by continued nursing can also help regulate stress and lower the risk of postpartum mood disorders.

Breastfeeding is more than just food—it’s a lifelong investment in health, connection, and well-being. A lucky child, indeed. 🤍

28/02/2025

A good latch on a bottle is important for comfortable, paced bottle feeding.

10/08/2024

Normalise newborn behaviours!

So much worry about babies swallowing air, or passing gas, or feeding patterns.
Something to think about…

23/05/2024

If your baby has reflux read this.

GORD can only truly be diagnosed by an endoscopy to look for inflammation and a pH probe. That is pretty invasive. Babies are usually “assumed” to have GORD from the symptoms of being unsettled, not wanting to lie on their back, wanting carried all the time etc - basically due to crying and demands on the caregiver(s).

If medication is started it tends to follow a cycle. Gaviscon is usually tried first. A common side effect is constipation. What do babies do if constipated? They have to push harder, strain more, increase their abdominal pressure. What does increased abdominal pressure do? It increases reflux episodes.

Then an acid suppressant is trialled. For some babies this makes a difference (these tend to be allergy babies IME and the acid suppressant is not the solution there, it’s just helped uncover the original problem). For the vast majority of babies though acid suppression does not reduce crying - we know this from studies. So parents return to GP a few weeks later saying there is no change. Baby has grown in those weeks and is now heavier, so the dosage is just increased. If it didn’t make a change before (because the crying was nothing to do with acid) then it doesn’t make a difference again.

After a while caregivers decide to stop the acid suppressant which doesn’t seem to be working. That causes acid rebound (genuinely higher than normal production) and that may really make the baby more unsettled - so they conclude the drug is needed and go back on it.

This is why babies need a proper assessment at the start, rather than an assumption that crying=excess acid. In reality in almost all babies crying = 4th trimester or crying = a feeding issue. Good support around feeding, and helping you understand your baby’s neurodevelopment and their communications is key and can stop you getting into this medication cycle.

14/05/2024

Highly recommend this wonderful organisation 💕☕️

Coming up next Tuesday 21st May at Coffee #1 in Fareham, our Fareham and Gosport Group Meet-Up.

Our in-person meet-ups are very informal, free to attend and with the option to purchase reasonably priced and delicious food and drinks in our lovely cafe venues. Our team can usually be spotted in bright pink t-shirts with our logo or by the pile of pregnancy, birth and parenting books in the middle of the table. �
There's no time too soon or too late to start coming along. You can come alone or bring anyone you like with you. You don't have to arrive at the start or stay the whole time just drop in when it works for you. You don't have to ask anything just come and enjoy some company but if you want to you can ask anything, there's no such thing as a stupid question or something that's too embarrassing.
�We're just as happy to talk about feelings that feel overwhelming, making birth choices, vagina-related topics, the contents of babies' nappies or anything in-between.�
Image: Blue background with purple IPBB logo and text that reads:
Fareham & Gosport Group Meet-Up
Tuesday 21st May
Coffee #1 Fareham
Everyone Welcome

11/05/2024

Love this! New meet & support group for parents

🪇 NEW! NEW PARENTS MEET AND CONNECT! Weekly from Friday 7 June 2-3pm. 🧸

🪇 New Parents Meet and Connect is a free supportive drop-in library session that is perfect for new babies and first-time parents/carers. Connect with other parents and explore sensory activities.

🧸 Your local library is a hub of support and information for new parents and babies during their first twelve months and beyond. Find out how we can help your new family by popping along to our weekly Friday afternoon sessions at 2pm.

ℹ️ Find out more information at: www.hants.gov.uk/library-parents

09/05/2024

Bet gorillas don’t get any flack for natural term weaning

For the most part society accepts young babies breastfeeding. But toddlers - that's a whole other ball game. Here are five reasons it is completely normal.

05/05/2024

It’s International Day of the Midwife! I’m proud to be a midwife and lucky to work and have worked with with the most wonderful, caring and passionate colleagues. Tag a midwife you love to say thank you🥰

30/04/2024

Very useful read if your little one is on Gaviscon or similar, or if you’re considering it.

Alginate therapy is a treatment commonly used to manage symptoms of reflux. It's most often prescribed as a first line treatment before considering proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazole. Alginate is a compound derived from seaweed that forms a gel-like substance when it comes into contact with stomach acid. You probably know it in the UK as Gaviscon, which is the most commonly prescribed brand.

There is growing concern that babies are being prescribed these medications very early, without having had a proper feeding assessment with someone qualified.

Here's how it typically "works":

➡ When taken orally, alginate-based formulations create a protective barrier or 'raft' on the surface of the stomach contents. This 'raft' helps to prevent stomach acid from refluxing back up into the oesophagus, thereby reducing symptoms of heartburn and acid reflux.
➡ For babies who are faltering in weight due to poor absorption of nutrients because they are repeatedly vomiting, the 'raft' helps keep milk in the stomach and therefore increases calorie and nutrient intake.
➡ For babies it is typically prescribed as a powder to be made into an oral solution with water or expressed breastmilk.
➡ Alginate therapy is generally considered safe for short-term use. However, many parents report side effects in their little ones, the most common of which I hear about are bloating, and constipation.

The images I've shared here show a variety of stools as a result of of alginate therapy. Many parents worry that they've swapped one problem for another, since the treatment may appear to improve reflux, but has instead caused constipation.

Stools may become more paste like, dry, or like play dough in texture. In many babies, the stools become firm and compacted, making it painful, difficult and distressing for little ones to pass. If you look closely at the one on the left, there is a small amount of red blood, most likely caused by damage to the a**s as the poo is being pushed out.

It's important to know that reflux is a symptom of something else, and not a diagnosis in of itself. If you have concerns about your baby vomiting - seek help and support from an IBCLC.

23/04/2024

Love this. ‘If a baby wants it, they need it’

Babies have a primal need to suck a lot. They like it, they want it, and they need it.
And it's not just about milk: babies want to suckle/nurse when they need connection, contact, calming or comforting. And when this need to suck and to be close is met by breastfeeding, then babies usually get the milky calories they need.

The word ‘breastFEEDING’ is a bit of a misleading word for how the process of suckling/nursing works. It’s about the cuddles, comfort, calming and connection, with calories/feeding as the happy, and essential, by-product. It’s a clever system: really complex and sophisticated, but also very simple. When we welcome our baby to the b**b whenever they show any urge to suck, then they’ll usually get the milk that they need in order to thrive.

This is also part of the reason why dummies can sometimes get in the way of breastfeeding: if babies meet much of their sucking need with a dummy rather than a breast, then they might not get the calories they need, and your body might not get the stimulation it needs in order to drive the milk making process.

The good news for us when we’re breastfeeding, is that we don’t always need to work out whether a baby is hungry, thirsty, tired, overstimulated, understimulated, having a ‘growth spurt’ etc etc. Thank goodness, because that can be an impossible task. As tired and baffled new parents, we could tie ourselves in psychological knots trying to work out if a baby is ‘hungry again’, or trying to fathom WHY they want to be held so much. And if Aunty Esmerelda says ‘But he’s only just fed’ or ‘He’s just using you for comfort’ then that can sow all kinds of seeds of doubt in our minds.

We don't need to worry about all of that. Just like we wouldn’t try to work out if our partner/spouse is ‘due’ a cuddle or a smile, we don’t need to think ‘Is my baby due a feed yet?’ We don’t need to analyse WHY baby wants to cuddle or to suckle.

If baby WANTS it, he NEEDS it.