A breastfeeding app that will soon celebrate its first birthday has secured approval from local NHS services.

Lancashire NHS and HCRG Care Group have approved the leading breastfeeding and parenting app LatchAid and will fund free premium access for three months for all service users.

In celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, the early parenthood support app has revealed how it increased breastfeeding rates by supporting parents across the county.

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Dr Chen Mao Davies, the founder and CEO of LatchAid, said: “Traditionally, the UK has one of the worst breastfeeding rates in the world, with most women giving up before they want to.

“Breastfeeding is natural, bonding, and it gives the baby antibodies, but nobody tells you how difficult and painful it can be.

“In my own experience, I developed mastitis and thrush, the baby’s weight dropped, and I often faced long lonely nights not knowing what to do.”

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The theme of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week, marked annually in the first week of August, is ‘Step Up and Support’.

LatchAid has reported that amongst 271 recent survey participants, they doubled the average breastfeeding rate:

• 49 per cent are exclusively breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks, versus the national average of 24 per cent
• 91 per cent of users found LatchAid useful
• 88 per cent of parents would recommend the app.

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The app demonstrated that breastfeeding rates increased when LatchAid was used, with parents gaining access to clinical advice from a team of lactation consultants.

LatchAid will expand its scope to the first 1,000 days of parenthood, helping families to overcome a much broader range of challenges, and will rebrand later this year to support this development.

The company’s growth over the past year has been funded and supported by Innovate UK, The Health Foundation, and NHS Improvement.

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LatchAid has closed a £1m seed funding round in February 2022, combining equity investment and innovation loans to accelerate its future development and growth.

Lancashire-based Shel Banks IBCLC, the clinical director of LatchAid, said: “In the past year, we’ve seen the continued impact of the Covid pandemic on access to healthcare professionals and our breastfeeding rates.

“The need for 24/7 support for parents has never been more urgent. This year’s World Breastfeeding Week theme is ‘step up and support’, which perfectly sums up why LatchAid exists.”

For more information, visit – https://latchaid.com/lancashire-hcrg

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