lc-help.eu – that’s what we called the site after a short deliberation. In English, so that many understand it, with the abbreviation .eu, because we see the support of refugees as a European task.
„LC“ stands for „Lactation Consultants“: breastfeeding advisors. So: „lactation consultants help“.
More than three million people have already fled Ukraine (as of 17.03.2022), most of them women and children – often still very small, sometimes even newborns. Many more people are expected, and Europe is taking them in with great support and willingness to help.
Having a baby – or having children in general – brings questions and uncertainties for every mother and family. In addition, extreme stress, which very many people experience when fleeing1 , can have a negative impact on parent-child bonding and children’s neurodevelopment2 and can also have a direct impact on breastfeeding success3. Often these issues can be resolved with the help of friends and family, sometimes also with professional support, e.g. from midwives.
For many women, this support is now no longer available. Although health services are paid for by health insurance companies for refugees (at least in Germany), it can be a big hurdle to seek medical services in a foreign language – especially when it comes to supposedly „small“ questions, such as breastfeeding or the development or care of babies.
However, we believe: every mother has the right to the best possible advice on these issues, and every mother should be able to be supported in breastfeeding her baby. This is most easily made possible in their own language. This is the aim of our project – breastfeeding and infant counselling in a language that mothers in need of advice can speak.
„Maintaining the breastfeeding process in times of exposure to stress, panic and anxiety-inducing events is one of the most basic ways to continue maintaining the mother and child’s mental and physical health.“
https://www.health.gov.il/English/Topics/Pregnancy/Childbirth/feeding/Pages/Breastfeeding_in_emergencies.aspx