Breast Pump Donated to Ward 2a at Great North Children’s Hospital

We are really pleased to have donated a Medela hospital grade breast pump to Ward 2a at the Great North Children’s Hospital. The ward look after children with respiratory problems, but as poorly children are often complex they look after many other conditions and symptoms too… for example, Evie spent time on the ward – yes she had respiratory problems, but she also had serious cardiac problems and was fed straight in to her tummy as she couldn’t swallow (along with many other things…).

This is why making a breast pump available on the ward is vital. If a baby can’t swallow, or struggles to feed, but mum wants to feed them using her own milk it can lead to a very stressful and upsetting situation for everyone; mum can’t feed baby, resulting in frustration, feelings of guilt and the physical pain that goes with not feeding. Baby gets frustrated and hungry waiting for mum’s milk… if a breast pump is always available then mum can express whenever she feels she needs to, and build up a stock of milk. This means that if the baby is fed through a tube they can be given mum’s milk, or if they are struggling they can be encouraged and have plenty stored ready for when they get the hang of it/feel better.

The breast pumps are expensive and in scarce supply on the wards and Ward 2a have to try and borrow one from other wards to help mums who are admitted with their child and want to express…until now! The Medela pump will be available 24/7 for mums on the ward and no-one needs to worry about any of those stresses of feeding again…

We are so thrilled to have been able to make such a difference for the mums and babies on Ward 2a!