Joanna Brett - Nurturing New Parents

23/02/2025

I believe the NCT Infant Feeding Line is one of the greatest things that the charity can offer to all new & expectant parents. We are open from 8am-midnight every day of the year to provide speedy access to support with all aspects of feeding milk or solids to babies or toddlers. I've taken 1,980 calls during my shifts on the NCT Infant Feeding Line over the last nine years and am so proud to be part of that team.

08/02/2024

Looking forward to facilitating an NCT Refresher course with my colleague, Alison Ryan, in Crouch End next month. There are a couple of spaces left so do join us if you are expecting another baby or please share with a friend who is.

The course runs on three Wednesday evenings in March. In addition to re-capping on key aspects of birthing & feeding babies, we make time to de-brief previous experiences as well as to talk about welcoming a new family member into a household with older siblings. For many people, the other participants on the course become an important part of their support network.

Previous Refresher course attendee: "It was a brilliant personalised session and I felt very comfortable in asking some of the things that have been on my mind this second time round."

For more information and to book:

If you’ve already had a baby and you’re expecting another, this NCT Antenatal Refresher course is for you. We revisit all the important information and help you meet a group of parents with new babies due around the same time.

21/01/2024

I'm running an NCT Introducing Solids Workshop at Peter Jones in Sloane Square on Thursday 1 February 2024 from 10.30am-12.30pm. There are still a few more spaces so please share this with parents if they have a baby approaching six months and might like to come along to find out more about starting to offer solids alongside milk feeds.

These sessions are designed to be interactive and to allow plenty of opportunity to answer questions. We talk about when & how to introduce complementary foods in a way that is both safe & enjoyable.

Refreshments are provided for adult participants and babies are very welcome, of course. Location is great for anyone who can get into London fairly easily and fancies a wander down the King's Road afterwards!

For more information and to book:

Suitability ranks how suitable an NCT Antenatal course is for your baby’s due date – from ideal through to unsuitable. We calculate this by looking at the number of days between the course finishing and your estimated due date. There needs to be enough time so you don’t miss your course, shoul...

04/08/2023

** Please share with friends & clients with babies approaching six months and do join us if this is relevant to you **

I'm facilitating a face-to-face Introducing Solids Workshop in Muswell Hill on Thursday 17 August 2023 from 10am-12pm. This is a great chance to discuss when & how you might start introducing solids to your baby alongside their milk feeds in the company of other parents at a similar stage.

We'll be in a very accessible venue next to Alexandra Palace. There's unrestricted on-street parking on the roads nearby, it's ten minutes' walk from the Broadway and close to the W3 bus route. Babies are, of course, very welcome!

If your baby is approaching six months and these dates or the location are not convenient, do join one of my colleagues for an online NCT Introducing Solids Workshop.
For more information and to book:

Introducing your baby to solid foods can be a very exciting time but you'll also probably have lots of questions. We'll help you decide when the time is right, how you want to go about it and what to expect. Join a live, online and interactive small-group workshop that will be tailored to answer you...

16/06/2023

Early breakfast in Sophie's Bakery by the Library Green in Enfield Town. Perfect coffee, yummy sausage bap and a warm welcome from Sophie, Gav & Julie 😍

Lots of room for buggies, wheelchairs, groups & parties. Look forward to meeting some of you there over the coming months or just taking a few minutes to read my book in a nice space.

Well done, Sophie. It looks (and smells!) wonderful ☕

07/02/2023

Not surprised to hear that the increase in enquiries I have had about offering postnatal support to new families is being felt by Doula colleagues nationally. It's good to know that more families are becoming aware of all the ways in with Birth & Postnatal Doulas can work with them before, during and after the birth of their baby or babies 🤩

Doulas are specialists who provide non-medical pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal support, and they are seeing big increases in demand

24/01/2023

I have many conversations in the course of my week with new parents adjusting to life with a small being who loves to be held & carried. We often talk about the way in which their baby might be experiencing the world and how they might respond to their child’s needs whilst making time to rest themselves. These pictures speak a thousand words 💜

12/12/2022

The holiday surge in requests for breastfeeding support seems to have come early this year and it's been a busy weekend. Glad I managed to visit a family with a 4-day-old baby before the snow came down and luckily I can easily walk to my appointment tomorrow morning.

There's often something particularly special and memorable about supporting new parents at this time of year. Others are preoccupied with shopping, wrapping, partying, cooking, hosting & socialising whilst those with a new baby are finding their feet quietly and away from it all.

Meanwhile my own offspring have been starting to get our house ready for Christmas. There's something quite touching about their excitement as they rediscover the seasonal picture books and happily put up decorations they made at Nursery - some of these are dated 2008!

Last year we adopted the snowman from a friend who was re-homing her Christmas decorations before a move and he's already a very well-loved addition to the household ☃️

13/10/2022

Positive About Down Syndrome [PADS] research indicates 40% of families reported being advised they wouldn’t be able to breastfeed because their baby had Down’s Syndrome, even if there were no additional complications.

I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about the work of PADS in raising awareness about Down’s Syndrome at their first lunchtime webinar today. Amazing turnout with lots of NCT & Doula colleagues joining the call as well as many health professionals. Hopefully this level of interest & participation will promote more informed expectations alongside recognition that it may or may not take a mother & baby team longer to establish breastfeeding when the child has Down’s Syndrome.

I’m thinking now particularly of three mothers I have supported in quite different ways with breastfeeding a baby born with Down’s Syndrome. I know one of those babies is thriving 12 years later and I hope the others are doing well too.

Guest speakers from St George’s Hospital Tooting scheduled for the November Webinar: https://positiveaboutdownsyndrome.co.uk

11/10/2022

Fabulous morning at learning more about just how versatile slings & carriers are.

Look forward to being able to make a few suggestions to clients who would like to feed their baby in a sling as well to all those parents who know being carried soothes their baby but are feeling nervous about giving it a go.

Will continue signposting parents who would like to try slings out, learn how to use their own or to hire them from just £5 a month to Mel and other London sling libraries to benefit from their very specialist expertise.

22/08/2022

Doulas are for everyone! Proudly supporting parents from all walks of life 💜

Doulas in the news! We were pleased to contribute to this article in in The Sunday Times today sharing the benefits of doula support.

We were able to share that Doula UK doulas supported nearly 2000 births last year, and 2500 families were supported postnatally. An increase on last year. 😍

The article highlights the possible benefits of doula support from studies:

‘…women who work with a doula have shorter labours and are less likely to have unwanted interventions, including caesarean, forceps or ventouse deliveries.’

‘Postnatally, mothers supported by doulas have greater breastfeeding success, more confidence and lower rates of postnatal depression.’

Of course doulas are not only for celebrities, nor are they the preserve of the rich, famous or reserved only for the middle class. Doulas are for all.

Happily this article also mentions our Doula UK Access Fund which provides free doula support to those who cannot afford a doula and who are more vulnerable.



Find a doula to support you from our directory of over 650 birth and postnatal doulas working across the UK.

www.doula.org.uk or Link in Bio.

21/08/2022

Eating my lunch in lovely Stationer's Park in Crouch End before an NCT session. Recalling playing tennis here and watching my cousin's daughter running around this climbing frame as a toddler before I moved to Enfield and had my own children.

M's 19 now and off to Drama School in the autumn. When I looked after her as a newborn while my cousin went swimming, I never dreamt that one day new parents, breastfeeding & babies would be my world!

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