NEW mothers were left “utterly dismayed” when they found out vital breastfeeding services could be at risk.

Redbridge’s Infant Feeding Service offers new mums all the support they need with both bottle and breast feeding.

Any new mum in the borough can go to baby feeding cafes in Wanstead, South Woodford, Woodford Green, and elsewhere five days a week to get advice from experienced, dedicated feeding advisors.

The advisors can also visit mums at home, where they have more time than GPs and health visitors to make sure babies are feeding properly.

But after a restructure by Public Health Redbridge and service provider North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), their futures appear uncertain.

First time Wanstead mum Kina Pallecaros became “very distressed” when her now three-month-old son refused to breastfeed.

She said: “There’s always that consensus that ‘breast is best’ and you feel under a lot of pressure as a new mum.

“You’re shown how to breastfeed in hospital, but having just given birth you’re in a complete daze - you don’t know what’s going on.

“When we got home my son wouldn’t breastfeed and he quickly got frustrated. It was very distressing for me.

“When he was five-days-old I rang the feeding service at around 9am and an advisor turned up within hours.

“It made the world of difference, and if that service didn’t exist, I probably wouldn’t have got the chance to breastfeed my son.”

Having dealt with countless different mothers over a number of years, she claims it is not just how experienced the advisors are, but how passionate too that makes them so invaluable.

Woodford Green mother-of-two Lucy Langford who visits the South Woodford feeding café regularly agreed.

The 34-year-old GP said: “Even as a doctor there’s loads I didn’t know, and even as a second time mum I still had questions.

“I needed support feeding both my children, so seeing the same faces and knowing how experienced they are means everything.

“There’s so much pressure on you to do the right thing - the feeding advisors are a real lifeline.

“They’re so incredibly passionate."

She added: “There’s a social side to going to the feeding clinics as well.

“They’re a chance for you to get out and talk to other mums, when you might otherwise feel isolated at home.

“It protects you from things like post-natal depression, and not having that support would be incredibly detrimental to babies' and mums' health.”

Elizabeth Miall who lives with her partner and nine-month-old daughter in South Woodford said she was “utterly dismayed” to hear Redbridge feeding advisors’ jobs could be at risk.

She said: “This is a vital resource for all new local mums and without the support of my advisor I wouldn't still be breastfeeding now.

“Solely relying on health advisors who are not dedicated breastfeeding experts would be a short-sighted, foolish mistake.

“Seeing such a wonderful service cut would be an outrage.”

In an email to a group of concerned mothers, a Redbridge Council spokesman claimed it “has not stopped the service”.

They explained the Infant Feeding Service is being integrated into a new combined service called the 0-19 Healthy Child Programme.

They said: “The new service will offer advice on breastfeeding and formula feeding and will continue to meet with mothers face to face in their home or at a community base such as a clinic, children's centre or baby feeding café.”

They did not comment specifically on whether feeding advisors’ jobs are going to be cut and only confirmed all staff will have “three days of infant feeding training”.

A NELFT spokesman confirmed the Infant Feeding Team is being integrated into the 0-19 universal service.

They said: "The service is incorporating staff from the current Redbridge Infant Feeding Team and all staff are fully trained to support families.

"Due to the restructure some staff may be redeployed within the 0-19 service or other services within NELFT, but parents will have access to the Health Visitor service and continued support in relation to breast feeding support and advice."