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Below are responses to some common questions and concerns relating to running
a Baby Café drop-in.
Click here to read FAQs about our
organisation.
To download our policies click
here.
A mothers' charter has been developed to help
make clear to mums what they can expect from a Baby Café
centre.
The
Baby Café Handbook includes a brief Child Safety
Protocol. Two relevant aspects of this are:
Regular review strategies to reduce the risk of hot drink spillages (taken
from The Baby Café Handbook) can include:
 | Display signs/provide information leaflet reminding parents about any
potential hazards within the environment. |
| Consider the arrangement of furniture - part of creating a welcoming,
friendly atmosphere is making sure mothers feel safe, physically as well as
emotionally. Tables, seating and toddler play areas can be sited where the
risk of drinks being knocked over is reduced. Check out insurance - this will
depend on the venue, funding source and your own employment status. |
It is worth noting that many non-Baby Café health care activities may also carry a
risk, e.g. an undressed baby being weighed carries the risks that baby might
become cold, be dropped or wriggle off the scales and fall; this does not mean
that these are reasons to discontinue weighing vulnerable babies.
Mothers have told us that they feel well aware of the many child safety
issues both inside and outside the home, for example toddlers treading on
babies, toddlers choking on toys or bits of toast, children opening the safety
gate and running outside or falling and banging their head. They considered the
risk from hot drinks to be similar - a risk that can be minimised with care
- and rebelled against the idea that they had to either forego their
refreshment or leave their baby to go into a separate room to drink their
coffee.
The Department of Health's 'Latching On: Good practice and innovation in
breastfeeding initiation projects' describes The Baby Café drop-in centre:
| 'The informal, relaxed 'café' style drop-in, was
influenced by popular 'café culture' with quality refreshments and a
positive brand image to attract mothers. The lactation consultant and
facilitator were always on hand to help with any specific problems, but
the emphasis was on mother-to-mother support.' |
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Since breastfeeding mothers are often isolated, segregated and discriminated
against (whether subtly or obviously; at home or in public) one of The Baby
Café's key concepts is that a Baby Café centre is a place where all pregnant and
breastfeeding mothers are welcome and are able to access information, help and
support. It would be retrograde, and possibly discriminatory, to deny mothers the
opportunity to access skilled help and meet with their peers over a cup of
coffee.
Click here to download a safety poster from the Child
Accident Prevention Trust.
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| In talking with anyone about the Baby Café service the question
invariably asked is, ‘What about mums who do not breastfeed…aren’t
you discriminating against them?’
Our response to that is as follows:
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Nobody should be turned away from a Baby Café
drop-in.
Our operating handbook states that ‘When mums not requiring
support with breastfeeding turn up to a Baby Café drop-in session
they should be made to feel welcome, offered refreshments and any
other information they require. Generally, because they no longer need
breastfeeding support, they then go elsewhere to get the kind of
postnatal support they are seeking’. The point being that, like
countless other services, Baby Café drop-ins simply do not cater for
everyone and whilst everyone is welcome to drop in we would expect
that mothers with no interest in breastfeeding would naturally go
elsewhere. Baby Café drop-ins are not ordinary postnatal or parent
and toddler groups, they are a specific, specialised service. |
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| Baby Café drop-ins are highly inclusive.
The Baby Café model
provides drop-in support which is free to mothers. Anyone, regardless
of age, race, income, social status or beliefs can get support at a
Baby Café drop-in. A Baby Café drop-in brings together a wide
variety of mothers from different backgrounds united by a common
interest, breastfeeding their babies. |
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| It is not discriminatory to set up a support service for a group of
people with a common interest.
The health service does it all the time
(think of smoking cessation groups, stroke groups or carers’ support
groups). There are other services for new mothers which do not include
all mothers (think of twins clubs, post-natal depression groups or
dads’ groups). Plus countless other examples from everyday life
where services are set up to meet the needs of a subgroup of society.
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| Baby Café drop-ins operate under the founding belief that
breastfeeding is the best way to feed a baby.
Research has shown that
mothers need support to breastfeed successfully. At a Baby Café
drop-in any mother who has an interest in breastfeeding can gain
support and information on that particular parenting choice. It is
also a place where the mother can relax and feel comfortable about
breastfeeding, and see other mothers who feel similarly. It is
critical to maintain this atmosphere and this is why facilitators may
at times have to step in if they feel that the focus on breastfeeding
is slipping. |
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| Mothers want to go to the Baby Café drop-in because it’s a nice
place to go.
The aim of the Baby Café drop-ins is that they should be
high-quality, comfortable, welcoming, friendly places. It is no
surprise that there are many formula-feeding mothers who feel
aggrieved that they are not ‘entitled’ to attend such a nice
group, especially in those areas where there is little other
provision. However, the Baby Café Charitable Trust is a charity and
its charitable objectives state that it exists to provide support to
breastfeeding women and their supporters. Extending our provision to
include formula-feeding mothers is simply not an option, we would no
longer function as a charity. We feel strongly that there is simply
not enough provision of all kinds for new mothers and would urge those
in authority to consider ways to support them better. But it is not
our job to support everybody - our remit is to support breastfeeding
mothers.
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| Baby Café drop-ins are able to support mothers who are feeling
unhappy about their breastfeeding experience, regardless of how they
are currently feeding their baby.
It is well documented that a high
proportion of British women give up breastfeeding before they really
want to. There is also a lot of pressure to breastfeed, despite the
fact that we live in a culture predominantly tailored to support and
inform the non-breastfeeding family. Is it any wonder, then, that some
of them feel like salt is being rubbed in the wound by being ‘excluded’
from a service. Any mother who has given up breastfeeding, for
whatever reason, and is upset about it may feel even more miserable at
not being able to go where her friends are. To those mothers we would
say, 'Come along, find out anything you want to know, have a chat with a
professional or another mum and let out some of those concerns.'
The
Baby Café drop-in is an ideal place to go for this – we would much
rather a formula-feeding mum came along and got some ‘closure’ on
her breastfeeding experience than carried on feeling miserable about
it because she felt unwelcome. Nobody is going to sit in judgement on
an individual’s decision on how to feed their baby; our job is to
provide support to those who have chosen to breastfeed and we have to
maintain a breastfeeding-focussed atmosphere in order to do that.
Of
course, our long-term aim is to ensure that high quality early
breastfeeding support is widely available and the numbers of women
stopping before they are ready falls. |
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The
Baby Café Charitable Trust welcomes feedback from mothers on all aspects of our
services. You
can contact us via e-mail (admin@thebabycafe.org)
or PO
Box 640,
Haywards
Heath,
RH7
5WS.
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Mother-to-mother support is a key element of the Baby Café model of care,
with skilled one-to-one help available for those who need it.
Our national audit for 2005 revealed that 41% of Baby Café staff were working
on a voluntary basis. Trained breastfeeding supporters, leaders, counsellors, peer supporters and
interested mothers are involved in Baby Café centres in a number of ways.
| Supporting the Baby Café informally by attending as a breastfeeding mother and
chatting to other mothers about their experiences. |
| Volunteer mother supporter 'on staff'; helping with organisational
aspects, setting out room, welcoming mothers,
refreshments, chatting to mothers informally. No formal breastfeeding
training needed and probably has her own child with her. |
| Trained volunteer mother supporter 'on staff'. This might be a
trained breastfeeding counsellor (NCT, LLL, BfN, ABM) or trained peer
supporter, providing skilled breastfeeding help and information as a
volunteer, under the supervision of a health professional. (For
example Cobridge) |
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| Working as paid breastfeeding counsellors. Trained breastfeeding
counsellor (NCT, LLL, BfN, ABM) or peer supporter, providing skilled
breastfeeding help and information as a paid member of staff, rather than as
a volunteer representing their charitable organisation.
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| A local breastfeeding group from within the voluntary sector can apply for
external funding to set up and run a Baby Café drop-in. Appropriately trained
breastfeeding counsellors, or health professionals with specific skills in
supporting breastfeeding mothers, would be funded to facilitate and staff
the Baby Café. (For example Northampton)
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Detailed guidelines are available from 'Volunteering England' at www.volunteering.co.uk
and the following is based on their Guidelines for relations between volunteers
and paid workers in the Health and Personal Social Services (1990).
The value of voluntary activity is recognised; in giving help directly or
indirectly to others and in providing opportunities for volunteers to
participate and find self-fulfilment.
In many settings, including Baby Café centres, relations between paid workers and
volunteers are harmonious and mutually rewarding. They are enhanced by good
procedures, clarity of respective roles, mutual trust and support.
1. Voluntary activity should complement the work of paid staff, not
substitute for it.
As a general principle volunteers should not substitute for paid employees, nor
intentionally or unintentionally undermine their terms and conditions of
service. The practical implications of this statement, e.g. identifying areas of
work and roles appropriate for paid staff and appropriate for volunteers, need
to be discussed and agreed within your Baby Café.
The varying roles and responsibilities of trained/skilled volunteers, health
professionals, facilitators, mother help and paid breastfeeding counsellors/peer
supporters need to be clarified between all relevant parties.
Volunteers should not be used as a cheap source of labour to reduce costs, as
this exploits and undermines both paid workers and volunteers.
2. The work of volunteers should not threaten the livelihood of paid staff.
Voluntary activity, implemented without proper consultation, has the
potential to threaten the jobs of paid staff and/or have repercussions on
earning levels. However, there will be situations in which organisational
changes, incorporating new notions of care, might involve the use of volunteers
in ways that could affect the interests of groups of paid employees. Also the
contracting out of local authority run services to organisation involving
volunteers might have a detrimental effect on some local authority paid staff.
In all such cases, including the provision of a Baby Café service, negotiations
should take place between the relevant organisations with a view to reaching
agreement to safeguard the existing terms and conditions of health care workers
as well as the interests of volunteers.
3. Agreements on the nature and extent of voluntary activity should be made
widely known among intended parties. Their roles, responsibilities and
accountability also need to be agreed.
Any agreement on the use of volunteers needs to be
communicated to all interested parties and at all levels of the various
organisations.
Within your Baby Café centre, agreement needs to be reached on the roles,
rights and responsibilities of volunteers; reimbursement of out-of-pocket
expenses; provision of insurance; documentation procedures and confidentiality;
training opportunities; access to decision making; access to supervision and support.
The varying roles and responsibilities of trained/skilled volunteers, health
professionals, facilitators, mother helpers and paid breastfeeding
counsellors/peer supporters need to be clarified between all relevant parties.
4. Volunteers should receive full out-of-pocket expenses.
It is important that volunteers should be offered full out-of-pocket
expenses so that they are not deterred from offering their services on financial
grounds.
Although volunteers are not rewarded financially, it is still important to
recognise, value and show appreciation for their involvement, commitment, skills
and efforts, e.g. by giving verbal or written thanks, and including them in
training/update sessions where appropriate.
5. There should be a recognised procedure for the resolution of problems
between staff and volunteers.
A named individual, within your Baby Café staff team, should be responsible
for the co-ordination of voluntary activity within your Baby Café drop-in, to whom
volunteers can refer in the first instance if difficulties arise. If resolution
is not possible at this level the problem/complaint can be referred to the
National Baby Café Coordinators. It is suggested a representative of the paid
workforce be given responsibility for liasing with volunteer co-ordinators from
the relevant organisations, i.e. the commissioning service, the charity the
volunteer is representing and the National Baby Café Coordinators.
Volunteers are able to receive support and guidance from both the national Baby
Café team and the charity they represent. Paid workers can receive support and
guidance from their commissioning body/employers and the national Baby Café
team.
The Baby Café model offers a regulated service with
established processes in place to mitigate risk. Baby Café staff are
expected to carry out risk assessments and take steps to protect people as
'reasonably practical' and in line with the Principles of Sensible Risk
Assessment. Download our detailed statement
of guidance.
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FAQs about The Baby Café Charitable Trust
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