12-month Maternity Cover
The Infant Feeding Support Worker is a key member of the multidisciplinary team, supporting the delivery of a high-quality, family-centred infant feeding service based on current evidence and best practice.
The post holder will provide practical, evidence-based infant feeding support and education to women , birthing people and their families across maternity and neonatal services, including postnatal wards, the neonatal unit, transitional care, community settings, and telephone support. They will promote parent-infant bonding, and informed decision-making, empowering families to achieve their individual feeding goals.
Working closely with midwives and the wider multidisciplinary team, the post holder will contribute to the delivery of safe, compassionate, and consistent care, maintaining privacy, dignity, and respect at all times .
The Infant Feeding Support Worker will develop sensitive, non-judgemental relationships with women , birthing people and their families, actively seeking their views to better understand and respond to individual needs. Through effective communication and specialist knowledge, they will help ensure a positive infant feeding experience and improved outcomes for mothers, babies, and families.
- Provide evidence-based infant feeding support and education to women and families during the antenatal and postnatal period, enabling them to feed their babies effectively and responsively.
- Promote parent-infant attachment through skin-to-skin contact and responsive parenting in line with UNICEF UK Baby Friendly standards.
- Work collaboratively with the Infant Feeding Team, midwives, neonatal and paediatric staff, and other healthcare professionals to support infant feeding and implement individualised feeding plans.
- Identify and escalate infant feeding concerns, including feeding difficulties, weight loss, jaundice, milk supply concerns and infant wellbeing issues.
- Maintain accurate electronic patient records and communicate effectively with women, families and healthcare professionals regarding care, progress and any concerns.
- Manage workload within agreed role boundaries under the direction of the Infant Feeding Co-ordinator or deputy.
- Support informed feeding choices, including maximising breastmilk, safe supplementation where required, and safe, responsive formula feeding in line with national guidance.
- Work safely in community settings when required and comply with Trust policies, including infection prevention and control.
- Assist in maintaining a clean, safe clinical environment, including equipment, storage areas, beds and cots, and support the safe transfer of women and babies when required.
The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the only acute Hospital in the London Borough of Hillingdon and offers a wide range of services including accident and emergency, inpatient care, day surgery, outpatient clinics and maternity services. The Trust’s services at Mount Vernon Hospital include routine day surgery, delivered at a modern treatment centre, a minor injuries unit and outpatient clinics.
The safety and well-being of our patients and of our staff is paramount and we are making urgent improvements to address this – particularly in infection prevention and control. We are making progress and going forward by working in partnership with local GPs, charities,
community services, academic partners, our local authority, neighbouring hospitals and the wider North West London Integrated care system, and ensuring that we listen and work in partnership with our local population. We are absolutely focused on ensuring that our hospitals
provide high quality, safe and compassionate care, while drive forward the building of the new Hillingdon Hospital.
We have over 3,500 members of staff that are proud to care for nearly half a million people, with a vision to be an outstanding provider of healthcare through leading health and academic partnerships, transforming services, to provide the best care where needed.
Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for a full list of role requirements and main responsibilities.
