Thank you to all of wonderful people who have signed this petition already!! Im overwhelmed with the number of people who have signed the petition already!!! This service is so important in helping mums succeed in their breastfeeding journey! They are a 7 day a week service and they go above and beyond in supporting parents through any and all breastfeeding issues that may arise!!

Thanks to the public outcry to keep the NHS Fife breastfeeding support team, the threat of redeployment of staff to other teams (which would result in a reduced service for new mums) has been taken off the table. Whilst the service will remain, the redesign of the current structure still threatens to reduce the service, leaving breastfeeding mums without the necessary support they need. With breastfeeding figures for the UK amongst the lowest in the world, having an effective 7 day service can help mums navigate their issues with effective support. The team help mums to access hospital grade breast pumps, their phone service allows for quick access and appropriate help to be assessed and executed promptly. It's is common for mums who do not have effective support to end their breastfeeding journey earlier than they would have wanted. This can lead to feelings of depression thus effecting their mental health. My own breastfeeding journey would have been cut short had I not had access to this service. From face to face help in order to get the best start in my journey to phone calls and text to help relieve the ongoing anxiety caused by my initial issues.

Let's help preserve this service. Whilst redesigning may be necessary to keep a service running in such a strained climate, this service needs to have all its current facilities saved and the team must be allowed input in to this redesign as they are the ones out there with the mums hearing their stories and assessing and helping their individual needs!

NHS Fife do the right thing!!!