Jill Asher Breastfeeding

Perhaps an especially good wee reminder for the Christmas break... Your terms! And good to have those words up your sleeve 'We're fine as we are, thanks'.

Second session of my Breastfeeding Preparation classes for mums2be is tomorrow (Monday) night, 6-7.30pm. If you would like to join us please just come along. We will be talking about how to ensure you have a good milk supply, thinking about potential challenges, as well as social issues. All important advance planning!! Message me if any queries, or to put your name down for classes in the New Year.

We were talking about the importance of skin2skin and also the instinctive behaviour of a new born baby at my Breastfeeding Preparation session this Monday. Have a look at this youtube clip... and be amazed.. Skip to about 7 mins in if you are short of time, but actually its worth sticking with from start to finish to demonstrate to yourself that there is no rush. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9SH55UzC So

Hope you have all encouraged your friends and relatives to buy a ticket or two - so many lovely pries to be won. Bump, Baby and Beyond offer so much to local new parents and families and I'm very proud of them - it all originated at the Mum2Mum Drop-in back when I was running the breastfeeding group there. Every ticket sold will help to keep all their activities on the road.....

Nice mugs.... good for starting a conversation. I just hope no one will assume they are advertising the contents!

I'm looking forward to the first of my 'Prepare for Breastfeeding' sessions next Monday evening. A word about booking.... if you are planning to come along, it would be helpful if you can let me know in advance, so I have an idea of numbers. A quick facebook message or text to 07552312543 is enough. and not to worry if you forget - it's fine to just turn up on the night.

This is a great article about how using scratch mitts or the 'flap-over' ends of sleep suits to cover new baby's hands can interfere with breastfeeding. Sensory stimuli are so important when baby is learning about breastfeeding and I often find myself suggesting to mums that they get baby's tiny hands out and allow them to feel the breast.. thus orienting themselves and getting the expected sensory cues. Would you choose to wear gloves to eat your tea?

Short breastfeeding preparation group sessions for parents to be. Basic information, tips, ideas and the chance to find out about potential challenges. Get off to a confident start. Ideal for EDD's December and January.
Session one: Plenty of reasons to give breastfeeding a go; baby instincts; latching basics.... Session two: Being confident of a good milk supply; potential challenges; social situations, including coping with a new baby at Christmas.
Special pre-Christmas offer. £5 per session.
Please be aware that although I will cover all important aspects of getting off to a good start, these are short, fairly basic sessions. More detailed and/or personalised sessions can be arranged, either for one2one or small groups. Contact me for prices and more information.
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One to put in the diary now!! This is a great event for parents as well as health workers.

Food for thought for new dads (and mums) everywhere.... our paternity leave may have a way to go to catch up with Sweden, but there is much here worth sharing. Creating role models...

I've just signed up for this online workshop which takes place this evening. Reflux etc.... so difficult to deal with the symptoms of screaming, sicky babies, but how can it be normal that sooo many babies are medicated these days? I'm hoping for some enlightenment!

A new name at last for the best place to find information about Infant Sleep.

Wondering where breastfeeding journey might take you over Christmas? Come and pick up some tips and ideas for staying on track.

Are you pregnant? do you know anyone who is? I would love to offer some Dumfries breastfeeding preparation classes, ideally this month, or early December, before Christmas mania takes over..... Watch this space for dates and please share or message me if you are interested.

A free presentation about the many benefits of being in close proximity to your baby at night time. James McKenna has been a fantastic advocate of breastfeeding and co-sleeping for many years and here he puts the 2 together to show how they are inseparable as a biological norm. It's quite a long listen - 75 mins, but includes lots of new evidence and insights.. eg how many (lots) new mothers lie to their health care provider about where/how baby sleeps!

The last paragraph of this piece says it all.... more investment in specialist support. If only! This is England.. the Scottish figures will be out soon - end of this month is the usual time. I doubt they will be any better. Last years stats for D&G showed less than a third of babies getting any breastmilk at 6-8 weeks. 'Advice to breastfeed' is not a good starting point in my opinion. Lots of chance to talk about the barriers, fears, concerns, social issues etc would be more beneficial.... then really good support and help to ensure that those who start are able to stick with it. I've seen too many mums and babies in the past months who have missed out on really basic information and latch help.

And here's another holiday snap... not very exciting I know, and rather hard to read - it wouldn't all fit in the one shot - so I'm also posting a more touristy one as well as the text of what the slab (on the pavement) says. 'The street lights on Sint-Veerleplein are connected to the maternity hospitals in the city of Ghent. Every time the light slowly flashes, a child is born. This work is dedicated to the newborn and to all children who are born today in this city'. I didn't hang around for long enough to see if the lights did flash,,... but thought what a nice gesture, and rather fine if true.

I will be at the Dumfries Sling Library tomorrow if anyone would like to say hello or ask a question about feeding.I will be at the Dumfries Sling Library tomorrow if anyone would like to say hello or ask a question about feeding.

A warm welcome to anyone visiting this page. Please see my website www.jillasher.co.uk for full details of my practice, fees, offers etc. My aims: * To enable more mums and babies to have a positive breastfeeding experience. * To share information and resources with as many people as possible to enable us all to regain confidence in breastfeeding as the normal way to nourish our infants. Not only new parents and parents-to-be, but also grandparents, relatives and friends an...d all others helping to support a new family; employers, health workers etc -
My consultancy is based in Dumfries and offers one-to-one help with a full range of breastfeeding issues. I also hold regular classes for parents-to-be and for new mums and babies.
Don't hesitate to get in touch, whether you just feel that something is 'not quite right' with the way that feeding is going, or whether you are facing any sort of breastfeeding challenge at any stage. Most situations can be turned around or improved, often surprisingly quickly.
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We met with Jill yesterday after having numerous feeding issues!



Jill was very welcoming and took a thorough patient history and was able to identify a treatment plan to help us. Jill also took photos so I could refer back to them to check positioning etc.



My daughter had a tongue tie revision and still had another of latching problems which was causing a lot of excess gas and an unhappy baby. After seeking support locally and being told some babies just won't feed in certain positions instead of investigating the problem I decided to contact Jill for some expert support.



Jill was lovely, not only did she demonstrate the feeding positions with me and my daughter she always explained the rational for feeding like that e.g. To increase the mouth gape to help the latch etc.



Jill also went out of her way to look into some of my daughters other issues and gave me advice asking consulting with other health professionals e.g. Taking probiotic.



I can not recommend Jill enough. Wish I had seen you sooner. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for all your help and support. I was determined to breastfeed my second baby but due to cracked nipples and severe pain I almost gave up. With experience, encouragement and lots of her time (on the phone and home visits) Jill helped me to latch him on properly. With time and practice it got eventually better and without Jill I probably would have stopped breastfeeding even though it is so important for me. I can highly recommend Jill to anybody who is pregnant and wants a bit of advice beforehand or anyone who has problems with feeding. I am sure Jill can help. ONCE AGAIN THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.

Thank you for coming to see 4 day old Piper and I this week, Jill. It's amazing how an experienced eye and a couple of minor changes can make such a huge difference to feeding a baby. Piper is more content during and after her feeds now and I'm more comfortable too �



Anyone starting out breastfeeding or experiencing issues, I recommend giving Jill a call or email. I hadn't encountered any major issues yet as my little one was only a few days old but from past experience I wanted to get Jill's advice before any issues began.

My husband and I had a one to one session with Jill on breastfeeding, which we both found incredibly informative. Jill’s approach was both relaxed and tailored to what we wanted to know. Thank you Jill and we will let you know when our little one arrives.

Lovely lady and with only one session made a huge difference as well. As i breastfeed my 9 week boy and been strugling all this time with latching Jill showed me what i been doing wrong and litlle changes make huge differences. Thank you Jill. X

Jill was very professional and took the time to give me lots of useful and personalised advice. With her help, my son went from being bottled fed to semi-breast fed in only a matter of weeks! Thank you so much for the advice, and I'll definitely recommend you.

Jill was so helpful and informative. She followed up the visit with a really useful email detailing everything that we had covered as I was worried I’d forget some of the points. Highly recommend.

Jill has helped me breast feed with a few of my babies. Even with my 4th it's surprising how much you forget. Even just the basics. Cannot rate Jill enough.

Jill gave me some antenatal breastfeeding classes the summer before my little girl was born (in October this year) which was both interesting(think of a science class on boobs over a cuppa in calm, cosy surroundings!)and relaxing(we did a breastfeeding meditation which was fab!). Thinking about and learning about bf-ing through these classes helped me feel empowered and confident. And turns out, I definitely needed to feel confident after a difficult birth! I was prepared for some pitfalls, but luckily it went well. Naturally, I questioned myself and my abilities but Jill provided check ups on my latch and gave me reassurance that all was well. I have and continue to have a lovely bf-ing experience with Abigail and we love seeing Jill.

I would highly recommend Jill. A few changes has made a huge difference to my little boy. He is feeding so much better. Many thanks For your expert advice.

I was about to contact the SaLT team to assess my son's swallow because he seemed to struggle during feeds, hed cough and at times not cope with the flow. I had a consultation with Jill that resulted in feeds being easier and more comfortable for both of us! It's surprising the amount of fine tuning you can get in a consultation. Thank you, Jill.

I met with Jill last week to get help and advice about breastfeeding my second baby. I feel more prepared now for when baby arrives and would definitely recommend Jill. She's a lovely lady and made me feel very comfortable!

I contacted Jill for some help after feeding was becoming a battle with my 10 week old son. Jill initially sent me some tips by email before seeing if a face to face consultation was needed, I decided I would like to meet with her and it was such a fantastic help. Jill was very kind, patient and knowledgeable and after just one session feeding has become much, much easier for both my son and I, definitely a worthwhile session and I would highly recommend Jill and her expertise to all feeding mums!

I cannot recommend Jill enough to anyone who is struggling with breastfeeding. 2 weeks into feeding my first baby I was at times dreading feeds due to the pain. I hadn't realised breastfeeding could be so tricky. Jill visited us at home and was so nice, she gave me some advice about just slightly adjusting our positioning and I couldn't believe the difference it made. That night baby Violet slept for 4 hours straight (had been feeding every 2 hours at least up to that point). Within just a couple of days my back no longer ached and had only minimal pain on latching. I unfortunately developed mastitis but jill sent me lots of advice and it quickly cleared up. We are now 6 weeks down the line and feeding is going brilliantly. It would've been so easy just to continue to suffer in the hope things would get better, but I am so glad I contacted Jill. Thank you.

I asked for Jill’s help at the very start, just a number of days after I came home from hospital as I was unsure how things were going and I was uncomfortable when feeding. She started by giving some email support and chat to help get me on the right track and give me time to decide if a face to face session was needed. I decided to have a session at home and it was great - Jill had plenty if advice and helped me make each breastfeeding area in the home suitable ie bed, couch, chair to help me find a comfortable position and she helped me work on my latch. Its also very reassuring as she doesnt mind when you contact her - night or day and will reply as soon as she sees it. I am still breastfeeding and know that I can contact her anytime for continued support if needed.