Infant Feeding Maternity Support Worker

Go back County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 09 October 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisenfor a dynamic and enthusiastic person to join the infant feeding team at CDDFTas a maternity support worker.

Our team works across County Durham and Darlington to provide specialist support to women and families experiencing feeding problems in the first weeks after birth. Infant feeding is at the forefront of public health and as part of the team you will be contributing to improved health outcomes across the region.

This a great opportunity for those interested in maternity care, infant feeding and public health to gain experience in this important area of maternity services.

We are a busy team and no two daysare the same. We provide face to face and remote care to women in hospital andin community with their baby including in our specialist infant feeding clinicand for division of tongue tie. You would be involved in providing skilled support to get their feeding journey off to the best start.

As a team we also lead for UNICEF Baby Friendly accreditation for meternity services for the Trust and you willhave the opportunity to be involved in service improvement and audit as we workto implement UNICEF standards for our families.

The post holder will privide careto women and families who need additional support with infant feeding. Theywill provide health promotion in pregnancy to advise on the values of breastfeeding and skilled support following birth with positioning and attachment.

Your duties will include:

• Providing skilled support to women who are experiencing feeding problems in the first weeks after birth, gently supporting them to reach their feeding goals.
• Supporting the specialist midwifein the infant feeding clinic during frenulotomy procedures.
• Providing support in acute settings to both antenatal and postnatal inpatients to support informed decision making and getting feeding off to a good start.
• Maintaining accurate records.
• Undertaking audit of UNICEF standards.
• Providing administrative supportby maintaining clinic lists and clinic outcome records.

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks.

Full Job Description s can be found in the adverts supporting documents.

Over reliance onAI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances ofsuccess.

For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.

This post is a permanent, parttime post working across sites within the Trust. You will be expected to workat University Hospital North Durham and Darlington Memorial Hospital. You mayalso be able to spend one day a week at a community site.

This role is an integral part of the infant feeding team and following training you will be providing infant feeding support independently and undertaking triage of referrals to the team. You willhave the opportunity to undertake additional training to support UNICEF standards including UNICEF audit training and attendance sis an interesting and varied role ideally suited to someone with a passion forpublic health and infant feeding.

The postholder will undertake appropriate training to meet the needs of the service ensuring competency is achieved,maintained and updated yearly.

• GCSE or equivalent in Maths and English
• Relevent NVQ level 3
• Care certificate
• Knowledge of infant feeding agenda

• Full UK driving licence and access to transport
• Willing to work across CDDFT sites

• Previous experience working in an NHS role
• Previous experience as a maternity support worker or equivalent role desirable.
• Previous knowledge of infant feeding and UNICEF standards.
• Ability to carry out clinical observations,…