Our primary aim is and has always been to reduce isolation & loneliness and support infant feeding (including breastfeeding, bottle feeding & starting solids). We recognise the importance of this not only in relation to the impact it has on a child’s health, but also the impact it can have     on maternal mental health. 

We embraced the theme of reducing isolation by taking over 2 of Action for Children’s groups that they were no longer able to fund. One of these became Little Pebbles Nature Walks 

We have invested in a robust evaluation process which ensures we are always working closely with the community to meet their needs. We have grown from one drop-in at Barnstaple library to 11 drop-ins a week in various locations, baby massage courses, starting solids workshops, toddler groups, antenatal courses and more! We plan to keep growing and evolving to meet the community’s needs. 

From there, Hannah & Alice became good friends & started volunteering together in 2014 via the local NCT Branch, with Hannah being a local practitioner & Alice Chairing the branch; both with a passion for support in the perinatal period. At this time they originally trialled a breastfeeding support group in a play cafè in Barnstaple. Sadly the cafè closed and they struggled to find another venue. They decided that moving forward, they needed to make sure they had funds to ensure its sustainability & also the flexibility of being a standalone project rather than part of a national charity. 

Alice, Hannah and Louise have now moved on but Early Nourishment is going strong with funding from The National Lottery secured until at least 2028 and with new staff, volunteers and a dedicated Board of Directors we are excited about where we are heading. 

Our Partners & Sponsors

From their website:

The Baby Feeding Law Group UK was founded by Baby Milk Action in 1997 and has been working for over 25 years to strengthen UK baby feeding laws in line with UN recommendations. We are a group of organisations and individual members working together to protect infant, young child and maternal health by ending marketing practices which commercialise infant feeding, mislead consumers and threaten breastfeeding. While our aim is to protect breastfeeding, we do not seek to limit the accessibility of safe and appropriate infant formulas for those who need or want them. Rather, we want to enable parents to make informed decisions about how they feed their babies, including where necessary, their formula choice and safe use. The BFLG UK is a part of a network including BFLG Ireland.