Holding your baby close to you and noticing and responding to their individual cues such as for comfort, hunger, tiredness and fullness can help your baby to feel safe, loved and understood.
Why is it important?
From birth (and if all is well), newborns thrive on close contact and require frequent feeding throughout the day and night. Holding your baby skin-to-skin right after birth calms them, aids in regulating their temperature and breathing, and fosters the foundation of a deep, affectionate bond as you get to know one another.
Early bonding and responsive feeding establish a crucial developmental base, with research confirming key protective benefits for both parents and infants. Breastfeeding, in particular, offers significant maternal health protections for both mother and baby.
Whether you choose breastfeeding or formula, dedicated care is available. Your midwife, health visitor, and local infant feeding teams provide tailored guidance to ensure your child’s emotional and physical wellbeing.
First point of contact
Your health visitor will make contact with you between day 10-14 and provide you with an opportunity to share your feelings about how feeding your baby is going, checking that you and your baby are doing well. They will support you to feed your infant in a responsive way which, in addition to providing your baby’s nutritional needs, will also meet their emotional needs, support their brain development and promote improved health and wellbeing for the whole of your family.
- National Breastfeeding Helpline
0300 100 0212 - Sign up to the Breastfeeding Friend service
- Dadpad - tailored support for fathers
Fathers and partners play a crucial and equal role in early childhood development. This dedicated guidance and specialised support has been developed in partnership with the NHS
Local services and information
- Hackney and City Health Visiting service
020 7683 4151 (9-5pm Monday–Friday)
huh-tr.hackneyandcityhv@nhs.net - Hackney Infant Feeding Pathway
- NCT - Hackney Infant Feeding Support drop ins
- Infant feeding guidance for Roma and Traveller Communities
- Helping you buy healthy food and milk for your family (National Healthy Start Scheme)
- Hackney’s Start for Life offer: infant feeding
- Local infant feeding support - Hackney and City Health Visiting Service
- Infant feeding information (Homerton University Hospital Maternity)
- Get help for your mental health (Talk Changes)
- Parenting and mental health support for children, young people and their families
- Hackney Support for Early Years (Local Offer)
Useful Hackney and City Health Visiting web pages
Get help to buy food and milk (NHS Healthy Start scheme)
If you are pregnant or have children under the age of 4 years and are receiving certain benefits or are under 18 years, you may be able to access food from the national Healthy Start scheme. Healthy Start gives eligible families a pre-paid card to buy fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried or tinned pulses, plain cow's milk and infant formula.
- An application for the digital Healthy Start scheme can be made online or by telephone on 0300 330 7010. To activate your card, press 1. To speak to an interpreter, press 2. For any other queries related to Healthy Start, or your Healthy Start card, press 3.
Rose Vouchers for fruit and veg in Hackney
If you have young children under 5 years old or are pregnant, you may be eligible to receive Rose Vouchers for fruit and veg. You can spend Rose Vouchers on the fruit and vegetables of your choice with participating market traders and greengrocers in Hackney.
Families receive £3 of Rose Vouchers for each child every week, or £6 if the child is under one year old. Rose Vouchers are collected from local children’s centres each week.
Rose Vouchers are available for families on low incomes, including those with no recourse to public funds.
- To find your local participating children’s centre, please visit: Alexandra Rose Charity - children’s centres in Hackney
- Rose Vouchers can be spent with the market traders and greengrocers listed on Alexandra Rose Charity – Markets
Free vitamins in Hackney and City
Free vitamins are available to help your baby and young children grow up strong and healthy and help you maintain your health during pregnancy and after birth.
If you live in or go to the GP in City and Hackney, free vitamins are available for pregnant women, new mothers and children under 4 years.
- Find information about free vitamins and food vouchers in Hackney and City
- Find out about Hackney Food Bank
Infant feeding peer support service
- 5 days a week on the maternity ward at Homerton Hospital
- Post discharge calls to every family discharged into Homerton’s care post-birth
- 7 community support groups, 5 days a week across the 4 Children and Family Hubs, as well as Shoreditch Maternity Centre and Lubavitch Children’s Centre
Breast pump loan
A free breast pump loan service is available for any parent with a clinical need who does not have the means to rent a pump. The parent will have undergone an assessment by an Infant Feeding Specialists. Referrals are then sent to NCT by the Specialist Teams.
National resources
Mental health and wellbeing
- Building a Happy Baby Leaflet (UNICEF)
- Getting to know your baby films (Association of Infant Mental Health)
- Understanding your baby
- Why is my baby crying?
- Understanding your babies crying
- Mental wellbeing after childbirth video
- New Dad - interactive infographic
- Guide for new Dads
- Why cuddling is so good for babies - Tiny Happy People
- Every Mind Matters
Infant feeding/growth
- Infant Feeding (NHS)
- Breastfeeding video - how lactation works
- How to make up an infant formula feed (NHS)
- Start 4 Life - Infant feeding
- Your baby's height and weight (NHS)
- Singing while feeding video (Tiny Happy People)
- Helping babies feel good about themselves (Peeple)
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