Breastfeeding case study

Christ Church playgroup, Islington

Goals

Support breastfeeding: Mothers bringing children to the school are sometimes late because they are feeding a younger sibling

What we did

• signed up to a breastfeeding website and contacted a named person so we could be a 'Breastfeeding welcome' provision
• put information on our notice board for parents
• provided a small room for mums to new siblings of the children who attend

We also

• talked with the children about the different ways babies and other mammals feed, put up posters showing breastfeeding and talked to children about how their mummies fed them
• set up a 'baby clinic' for our dolls, complete with equipment, weight and immunisation records and even a waiting room!
• helped children weigh and measure the babies and record immunisations in ‘red books’

Results

• improved attendance for children with baby siblings
• we're giving out positive messages to address Islington's health priorities
• our children are developing well in other areas such as mathematics and mark making as well as the three prime areas

Next steps

We're looking at other ways to support being a healthy early years setting - including putting up stop smoking information, talking to new children about their feelings and running a healthy Harvest Festival.