I am a huge advocate for babies receiving as much human milk as possible, I am all too aware of the lack of support our NHS services face and how nationally and daily, women are being failed by governments, society and health services when it comes to levels of support.
I started my infant feeding support journey after having a huge amount of struggles with my daughters weight, perceived supply issues and getting stuck in a never ending top up cycle. I was and am proud of the time I continued breastfeeding for but like the UNICEF survey, which showed 8 out of 10 women stop breastfeeding before they wanted to, I felt that I truly fell into this statistic. I was shocked that my midwifery training and career hadn’t prepared me for the challenges that are faced in reality, and used my frustration to empower, learn and move on to support others to avoid similar journeys.
Rachel Oliveira
I am an enthusiastic caring Lactation Consultant and member of the International Board of Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC), Infant Feeding Specialist Midwife and Frenulotomy (Tongue-tie) practitioner (NHS only), living and working in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
I qualified as a midwife from the University of Leeds in 2013 and spent many years working in maternity services in Bradford before completing the circle back to Leeds as an Infant Feeding Specialist Midwife in the Maternity Infant Feeding Team.
I qualified as an IBCLC which has been a dream of mine. Becoming an IBCLC has been the most rewarding and challenging process and has compelled me to put all my work and focus into improving the health and lives of babies and families in my care.