Your Breastfeeding Stories Needed
Have you given birth in the last year? We are seeking videos from breastfeeding mothers on their experiences with the early days of breastfeeding.
Have you given birth in the last year? We are seeking videos from breastfeeding mothers on their experiences with the early days of breastfeeding.
The Global Breastfeeding Collective is creating a video highlighting the impact that supportive maternity and newborn care has on mothers’ ability to start breastfeeding, breastfeed exclusively (avoid formula), or keep breastfeeding their babies for as long as they planned or wanted to and we need your help.
Research shows that more mothers breastfeed when facilities provide supportive care. But many facilities and countries do not yet do so.
We need you to help us change this by telling us your story.
What sort of breastfeeding support did you receive in the facility where you gave birth? What support do you wish you could have received but didn’t?
We want to make a video to show governments and other health policy makers how the breastfeeding care received after birth helps families and what happens when it is not provided. We want to inspire governments and health services to make sure that breastfeeding care is available for all families.
We will edit the video submissions and bring them together to tell a global story about why breastfeeding support after birth is important to families all around the world. We will use the video in a webinar and on social media.
You can help by recording a short video (no more than 2 minutes) telling us about your experience of breastfeeding support after birth. We’ve created a list of questions to help you tell us your story.
Questions to help tell your story
Please say the following:
My name is [first name/given name] and I live in [country name].
Please tell us your story of breastfeeding in the early days, and how that impacted your breastfeeding up to now. You can share one or more of the following:
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Where did you give birth? (Home? Hospital? Clinic? Somewhere else?)
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How did breastfeeding go in the first few days after birth?
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What went well in the first few days? What help did you need? Did you get the help you needed? What was that like?
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What made it harder?
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Was your baby placed on your chest (skin-to-skin) after birth? What was that like? Were you separated from your baby after the birth? What was that like?
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When did your baby have their first breastfeed?
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Where did your baby sleep while you were in the hospital or clinic?
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How did you learn to know when your baby was hungry?
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Did your baby need supplementation? Were you offered donor milk or formula? What were you told about all of this?
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Were there any staff members at the hospital that were particularly helpful? How did they help? Was there someone who was particularly unhelpful? What happened?
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Did someone in the hospital connect you to ongoing breastfeeding help and support in the community? Did that make a difference?
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Could you describe what you learned about breastfeeding from the midwives and doctors?
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Anything else you’d like to share about what made your early breastfeeding journey easier or harder ...
How to submit your video
Please note that all participants will also need to complete a release form. You can download a copy of the release form here.
Questions? Please contact Jeanette McCulloch at the Global Breastfeeding Collective at jmcculloch@unicef.org.
Please send your video and a video release form to jmcculloch@unicef.org by 6 July 22. Please also find tips for making your own videos using a phone or tablet here.
The Global Breastfeeding Collective is a partnership of prominent international agencies calling on donors, policymakers, philanthropists and civil society to increase investment in breastfeeding worldwide.