The Abergavenny Breastfeeding Support Group meets every Thursday morning, 9:30–11:30am, at the Community Centre on Merthyr Road. The group is open to all breastfeeding (or combi-feeding) mothers and expectant mothers. It’s free to attend and you can turn up as you are, at whatever time you can manage. We know how it is!
The group is run by volunteers. We are not medical professionals, but we have all been trained by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board as peer supporters, and we have close links with local health visitors. We are here to listen and support you, and if you need further help, we can direct you to the best place to get it. But our main aim is to provide a friendly, relaxed meeting where breastfeeding mothers can come together to chat, feed their children, pick up ideas and share experiences.
It doesn’t matter whether you are pregnant, starting out with a new baby, settled into the swing of things, weaning, or still breastfeeding a toddler – we’re here for you, and we’ve been there. We have all fed our own children; some of us finished a while ago, and others are currently nursing.
I first went to the group when my daughter was about nine weeks old and we were really struggling. The women I met were so kind and supportive, and made me feel good about myself despite our difficulties. I remember watching one lady happily nursing her older daughter and wondering, ‘Will we ever get there?’ A few months down the line, there we were. We’d made it!
I qualified as a breastfeeding peer supporter, and got involved with running the group. Now I know other mothers who have watched my daughter and me on Thursday mornings and wondered, ‘Will we ever get there?’ And they do. It’s a privilege to be part of the chain of mother-to-mother support that stretches back millennia.
Breastfeeding can be very isolating, and our group is here to remind women that they’re not alone.
The group has been running for over a decade, from various locations. We are extremely grateful to the Community Centre for providing our current home.
We run at the same time as the Community Kids playgroup, so families can pop into both sessions. There’s a real buzz about the centre on Thursday mornings! But we would love to see more mothers attending our group.
People seem to hear about the group just as a place to go with problems, but we want it to be more than that. We are trying to build a social circle where breastfeeding is normal and accepted (whatever your child’s age), and where breastfeeding mothers can help each other along the different stages of the journey – looking ahead at what is to come, and looking back at the path already travelled.
If you or someone you know might like to come along, we encourage you to do so. We would be delighted to meet you.
Dr Marianne Elliott
