Michelle Tant: Infant Feeding Specialist – BSc Hons, PGCert
Hello, I’m Michelle and I am a midwife and midwifery lecturer at the University of Brighton. I met Lorna and Katie through working at the same hospital Trust and now provide infant feeding sessions on the Birthing & Beyond courses.
When I had my first son in 2005 I received very little information about breastfeeding other than what I could read up on and so when I started breastfeeding I was surprised that it wasn’t quite as easy as some books would have me believe! Thankfully I had some great support and decided to train as a breastfeeding peer supporter so that I could ‘give something back’. Through this I gained experience in working with women and their babies from a few hours old through to moving on to solids and beyond. I then qualified as a Breastfeeding Counsellor in early 2011, started teaching antenatal breastfeeding classes and have discovered this is where my passion is.
The combined experience of being a midwife and breastfeeding counsellor has emphasised to me the value of antenatal breastfeeding education as so many parents were unprepared for the realities of the breastfeeding journey, in particular those first few hours as well as going forward. As a midwifery lecturer I specialise in delivering breastfeeding education to our wonderful student midwives so that they can pass on their knowledge to families but most importantly, learn how to really support women in their feeding journeys.
My aim is to give you the opportunity to ask questions in a safe and non-judgemental session, plus the information and tools you need to help you understand how breastfeeding works, what you can do to help the process, and importantly, the skills your baby brings to the party
When I had my first son in 2005 I received very little information about breastfeeding other than what I could read up on and so when I started breastfeeding I was surprised that it wasn’t quite as easy as some books would have me believe! Thankfully I had some great support and decided to train as a breastfeeding peer supporter so that I could ‘give something back’. Through this I gained experience in working with women and their babies from a few hours old through to moving on to solids and beyond. I then qualified as a Breastfeeding Counsellor in early 2011, started teaching antenatal breastfeeding classes and have discovered this is where my passion is.
The combined experience of being a midwife and breastfeeding counsellor has emphasised to me the value of antenatal breastfeeding education as so many parents were unprepared for the realities of the breastfeeding journey, in particular those first few hours as well as going forward. As a midwifery lecturer I specialise in delivering breastfeeding education to our wonderful student midwives so that they can pass on their knowledge to families but most importantly, learn how to really support women in their feeding journeys.
My aim is to give you the opportunity to ask questions in a safe and non-judgemental session, plus the information and tools you need to help you understand how breastfeeding works, what you can do to help the process, and importantly, the skills your baby brings to the party