Claire Wells - Lactation Consultant - IBCLC

17/07/2025

Highly recommend! 😍

NOVEMBER ANTENATAL COURSE DATES ARE HERE!!

Join us to get informed about birth, feeding your baby and early parenting. Connect with local likeminded parents and feel ready for anything!! Venue:

Includes:
* A full package of birth education for both you and your birth supporter
* My brand new Hood Hypnobirth course with strategies for any birth situation
* Birth preparation for physiological birth
* Preparation for complex birth situations- caesareans, inductions and assisted birth
* Baby feeding - breasts, bottles, expressing breastmilk
* Early parenting - the first weeks with a newborn baby
* Baby first aid
* Hypnobirth MP3’s
* Parents handbook
* Midwife led
* Ongoing group & midwife support after the classes have finished

£145 (includes both you and your birth supporter). Book through the bio link. At this stage you can reserve your spot for £30 (non refundable) by using the code DEPOSIT at checkout. Then pay the rest four weeks before the course starts.

Let’s do this parents 💪🏻

05/07/2025

A helpful demonstration of the koala hold from Hannah Croft IBCLC, Infant Feeding Support

23/06/2025

Great breastfeeding support in York ❤️

Tomorrow you can join us at the York St John University chapel, from 10:00-11:30am. No question to great or small 🙌 From feeding to weaning, ask away!

11/06/2025

Well said Lucy Ruddle IBCLC!

27/05/2025

I 😍 this post!

Unpopular fact time….

We humans have evolved to drink our mother’s milk until anywhere between the ages of around 2 and 7+ years old. Some babies stop earlier, some children carry on for longer. This is known as natural term breastfeeding, or natural term weaning. It’s thought that the eruption of the permanent set of teeth influences this timescale.

Many cultures around the world breastfeed until natural term, including many women in the Western world. This age range is only surprising in cultures that interrupt breastfeeding, often without realising it or knowing which norms are biololgical and which are cultural.

The concentration of fats and proteins increase as the baby grows into a toddler, along with increased levels of antibacterial and antiviral components such as lysozyme, which is an anti-inflammatory and destroys bacteria. Lysozyme increases in concentration from about 6 months old, and keeps increasing after the first year.

The concentration of Lactoferrin also increases over time. Lactoferrin inhibits the growth of some cancerous cells. It also helps our babies to absorb their own iron stores, whilst binding to the iron in our baby’s body which prevents it from being available to harmful microorganisms that need iron to survive. Lactoferrin also kills the bacteria strep mutans, which causes tooth decay and cavities.

Our body’s immune system takes around 6 years to become fully mature, so the support of the protective factors in human milk could play a part in the timescale of natural term weaning.
It is also associated with reduced risk of diseases for the mother, including breast cancer.

We acknowledge that many mothers find it difficult to establish breastfeeding in the first place, that breastfeeding is a multi-layered investment on the part of a mother and that natural term feeding might not feel like - or be - a possibility for many.

We also acknowledge that lack of information about our biology contributes to the lack of support for mothers when they want to establish - or continue - breastfeeding, but cannot find the help they need from people who understand why it matters so much.

Let's continue to turn that around ❤

More info at www.human-milk.com/science

15/05/2025

What’s in breastmilk? …..

What’s in breastmilk:
1. Water
Breastmilk is composed of about 87% water, which is crucial for keeping your baby hydrated.

2. Proteins
Proteins in breastmilk are essential for your baby’s growth and development.
Whey Proteins: Are highest in early lactation.
Casein Proteins: Casein concentration increases in mature milk and later lactation.

Proteins are highest in premature milk, colostrum and during weaning as an immune defence.

3. Fats
The fats in breastmilk include essential fatty acids, such as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid), which are crucial for brain and eye development.
The composition of fats in breast milk changes during each feed and throughout lactation to meet your baby’s developmental needs. The fat content of your milk is directly related to the fullness or emptiness of the breast. The emptier the breast, the higher the fat content.

4. Carbohydrates
The primary carbohydrate in breastmilk is lactose, which provides energy for your baby and aids in calcium absorption. Additionally, breastmilk contains oligosaccharides, which are complex sugars that promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria and protect against harmful pathogens.

5. Vitamins and Minerals
Breastmilk is rich in vitamins and minerals essential for your baby’s growth and overall health. These include:
Vitamins A, C, D, E, and K: support immune function, bone health, and overall development.

6. Antibodies and Immune Cells
One of the most remarkable aspects of breast milk is its immune-boosting properties. Breast milk contains antibodies, such as Secretory IgA specifically to protect mucosal surfaces, as well as lysozymes and lactoferrin which help protect your baby from infections and illnesses.

7. Hormones and Growth Factors
Breastmilk contains various hormones and growth factors that have significant effects on the developing baby’s gut, blood vessels, nervous system and endocrine system.

These include:
Prolactin and Oxytocin
Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF)
Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF)

02/05/2025

Wow! 🤩

Can breastfeeding help prevent early puberty? Yes, according to this 2025 meta-analysis. Its authors suggest lactation’s anti-obesity effects may be one reason why. Check it out here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40081314/

29/04/2025

Important info on Panorama tonight and here from the excellently informative First Steps Nutrition

13/02/2025

❤️❤️❤️

23/10/2024

❤️

October is Down Syndrome awareness month. We are very thankful to Sophie for sharing her story of breastfeeding Olive on our website.

"One thing I was told by my consultant and midwife was that babies with Down syndrome and her heart condition often struggle to breastfeed, often down to low muscle tone and breathlessness, but I was never discouraged to try and was told I would have all the support needed."

https://laleche.org.uk/breastfeeding-my-baby-with-down-syndrome/