Community-based Infant Feeding Service

The London Borough of Newham would like to invite Suppliers to complete a Provider Survey. The purpose is to gauge market appetite and experience for a universal community-based infant feeding service that aims to increase breastfeeding continuation. This is to be achieved through antenatal information workshops and breastfeeding support sessions in community settings such as Family Hubs, children's centres and targeted settings such as refugee and asylum seeker contingency hotels and faith and voluntary sector settings. The service will also play a wider health promotion role by actively supporting infant attachment, relationship building, responsiveness and maternal emotional health and wellbeing and providing "Making Every Contact Count" type referrals e.g. to other services offered by Newham's Family Hubs network. The service will complement the work of Newham University Hospital's midwifery team, Newham's Health Visiting team and Baby Feeding Helpline and Newham's children's centres. The service will be expected to work closely with the abovementioned partners to ensure an integrated, streamlined offer of support. The service provided must adhere to the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Standards (as a minimum standard) for hospital and community health services and it must be run by qualified infant feeding practitioners who are registered with an approved accredited national breastfeeding organisation. It should be complemented by the support of volunteer peer supporters. The infant feeding service will provide infant feeding support 7 days per week. In the community, the service will provide infant feeding workshops (virtual and face-to-face) including (at minimum), all 4 Family Hubs, all 11. Providers should also be working with voluntary and faith sector organisations across all community neighbourhoods to target at risk population groups, such as those who are least likely to access mainstream services. The model providers choose to deliver may include volunteers and/or peer support. Outcomes • Increased prevalence of breastfeeding at 10-14 days and 6-8 weeks • Increased prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 10-14 days and 6-8 weeks • Increased prevalence of breastfeeding among mothers who are less likely to breast feed at 10-14 days and 6-8 weeks • Women feel more supported around infant feeding • Women report feeling more knowledgeable and able to connect into other services that support the wider determinants of their health and wellbeing This is not an invitation to tender. Please answer questions in the attached form and send to [email protected] by 12noon, 22 August 2023 . The contracting authority reserves the right to meet with providers individually to discuss their responses in more detail.