What You Need to Know About Breastfeeding

My name is Sue Richards and I have lived and worked in Abingdon Oxfordshire for the past 45 years. I retired from my role as a community midwife in 2010 after 35 years service in the NHS.

I original trained as a nurse with the Queen Alexanders Royal Naval Nursing Service. In 2005 I achieved the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Certificate which is seen, around the world, as the Gold Star Breastfeeding qualification. It is with this qualification that I facilitate the Abingdon Baby Café to support families on their breastfeeding journeys however long or short they may be.

In 2000, the Government sponsored the setting up of the registered charity THE BABY CAFÉ to help to increase the initiation and longevity of Breastfeeding in the UK. In 2001, some colleagues and I embarked on becoming the first cascaded Baby Café in the country. This initiative went Global with hundreds of Baby Cafes being set up around the world. I am delighted, that despite the closure of many of these Cafes, following the local authority cutbacks of recent years, Abingdon remains the oldest and longest standing Baby Café in the world. The Aim today remains the same as at the beginning, to support breastfeeding families and to this end, I have recertified as a IBCLC three times in order to ensure that my help remains evidence based and current. Working with committed volunteers and such wonderful families continues to be life affirming.