Breastfeedingkerry Anna O’ Donoghue Lactation Consultant and Practice Nurse

03/04/2026

03/04/2026

Suppprt is so important to a breastfeeding family , and often a text or phonecall will work magic.

🌟 moms are doing the hard work - we as health professionals are just the support .

🌟peer support is also so important and beneficial - attending a breastfeeding support group may not be what you think you would enjoy BUT trust me - you will love it .
Check out you local group through your public health nurse or breastfeeding.ie

31/03/2026

25/03/2026

This is important information

Force Majeure Leave
If you have a family crisis, you have a right to limited time off work. This is called force majeure leave.

You may need to take force majeure leave for an urgent family reason, such as the unexpected injury or illness of a ‘close family member’.

A close family member includes:

Your child (including an adopted child)
Your spouse or partner
Your parent or grandparent
Your sibling
Someone who you have a duty of care for (for example, you are acting in place of a parent, also known as loco parentis)
Someone who depends on you for care (known as ‘domestic dependency’)
Other people as defined by law
If a close family member has died, you do not have an entitlement to force majeure leave.

Taking force majeure leave
You can take force majeure leave of one or more days up to a maximum of:

3 days in 12 consecutive months, or
A total of 5 days in 36 consecutive months (3 years)
Depending on your employer and your contract of employment, you may be able to take more than this.

You get paid while you are on force majeure leave. If your employer allows you to take additional force majeure leave, you should check if it is paid.

You cannot be unfairly dismissed for taking force majeure leave, or for asking to take it.

Your rights to force majeure leave are set out in the Parental Leave Acts 1998 and 2019.

23/03/2026

Good to know for childminders

Are you a childminder?

You can get up to €1,000 through the Childminding Development Grant to buy:

Toys
Childcare equipment
Safety equipment
STEM and art supplies
IT Equipment

The grant is available for all childminders, including unregistered minders and those who will start childminding in 2026.

You can apply until 15 April 2026.

21/03/2026

Tax Relief of 20% on health expenses for some healthcare provided by pharmacists. 🏥Up until now, such tax relief could only be claimed in relation to certain healthcare - such as GP visits, and for medications and drugs prescribed by a GP.

However, people will now be able to avail of 20% tax relief for expenses incurred for a consultation with a pharmacist and any medications prescribed by that pharmacist under the Common Conditions Service (CCS).

The eight common conditions included are allergic rhinitis, cold sores, conjunctivitis, impetigo, oral thrush, shingles, uncomplicated urinary tract infections, and vulvovaginal thrush.

Full details ⤵️

https://bit.ly/4lIMK1r

25/02/2026

A fabulous club for your little ones to start their football career!!

22/02/2026

MyClinic365 is your home for healthcare, with all your practitioners in one place.

17/02/2026

I am breastfeeding but I want to now combine feed

Is this possible

Will my supply drop

🤱yes it’s possible to combine feed and continue breastfeeding - ideally choose same time each day to breastfeed to protect your supply

✅ It would be better to feed your baby if he/she wakes for a feed overnight as prolactin is highest at night and this is good for supply

✅ Every breastfeed makes a difference and you cannot override the magic of breastmilk by giving a bottle of formula .

✅ be proud of your journey - there are so many reasons why a Mom decides to introduce formula and this is ok

✅ Moms need to be looked after also - fatigue, slow recovery , hormones, work commitments, social commitments at all reasons that decisions are made to introduce a bottle . Yes it is ok

⭐️ well done to all breastfeeding families

09/01/2026

Another reason to consider breastfeeding

Breastfeeding may lower mothers’ later life risks of depression and anxiety for up to 10 years after pregnancy, suggest the findings of an observational study, published in the open access journal BMJ Open.

Analysis of the data showed that women experiencing depression and anxiety at 10 years after pregnancy were less likely to have breastfed and had shorter durations of any or exclusive breastfeeding over their lifetime.

“The possibility that breastfeeding could further reduce the huge burden of depression on individuals, families, healthcare systems and economies only adds to the argument for policymakers to further promote breastfeeding.”

Discover more👉bit.ly/4pBRBBH

09/01/2026

Breastfeeding may lower a mothers risk of depression and anxiety for up to 10 years after pregnancy according to a studyConsultant Obstetrician Dr Mary McCaffre...

09/01/2026

Breastfeeding has so many benefits for you and your baby

🤱📃 Breastfeeding may lower a mother’s risk of depression and anxiety for up to 10 years after pregnancy, suggest the findings of UCD-led research.

Published in the medical journal BMJ Open, the study was led by Professor Fionnuala McAuliffe from the UCD School of Medicine.

The mental health and breastfeeding behaviour of 168 second-time mothers were tracked. These mothers were originally part of the ROLO Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study, conducted by the UCD Perinatal Research Centre at the National Maternity Hospital.

The women were recruited during early pregnancy, and they and their children had check-ups at three and six months, as well as at 2, 5, and 10 years after birth.

At each check-up, the mothers completed a detailed health history questionnaire, which asked whether they had been diagnosed with, and treated for, depression and or anxiety.

They also provided information on potentially influential factors, including diet and physical activity levels.

The mothers answered questions about whether they had ever breastfed or expressed milk for one day or more, as well as the total number of weeks of exclusive breastfeeding, the total number of weeks of any breastfeeding, and the cumulative periods of breastfeeding of less than 12 months and of 12 months or more.

Analysis of the data showed that women experiencing depression and anxiety 10 years after pregnancy were less likely to have breastfed, and had shorter durations of any or exclusive breastfeeding over their lifetime.

Each week of lifetime exclusive breastfeeding was associated with a 2% lower likelihood of reporting depression and anxiety.

The researchers said it is not clear if these lowered risks might persist beyond the 10-year postpartum period.