A breastfeeding specialist who has helped thousands of new parents and their babies has opened her own clinic.

Sarah Oakley, who runs the Ely Milks breastfeeding support group, now has her own practice in Burwell for private consultations.

She said: “After working out of various venues across Cambridgeshire over the years, it feels rewarding to finally have a dedicated base to work from.

“This is a place where anxious parents can get guidance and support if their baby is struggling with feeding and weight gain. Help can now be offered from here.”

The clinic is based at The Maltings, in High Street.

Parents face a mountain of challenges when a baby arrives, and many mothers who choose to breastfeed will say this is among the toughest.

The quality of support varies, and some mothers feel they have to move over to formula when they really wanted to breastfeed.

Sarah first saw this when she was working as a health visitor and initially trained as a specialist lactation consultant to help mothers who were having difficulties with feeding.

Frustrated she was unable to utilise her skills fully with the NHS, she left in 2010 to begin establishing her independent practice.

In that time, she has helped around 10,000 mothers and their babies.

She is also qualified to diagnose and address tongue tie, an issue that can hinder up to one in 10 babies when they’re trying to feed.

This can be fixed with a simple medical procedure which Sarah has carried out in over 5,000 babies.

She said: “Some families have been known to wait up to six weeks for a hospital tongue tie appointment.

“Such a delay can have an impact on the mother’s breastmilk supply. It’s important to address, and we can carry out the procedure here.”

Sarah, who also works out of another clinic in Somersham once a week, hopes the Burwell practice will eventually become a hub to support new parents with a range of services.

As well as the breastfeeding consultations, she plans to offer a fitting service for flanges which connect to breast pumps.

For more complex cases, she is also in talks to have a specialist osteopath, a dietician and a speech and language therapist offer their services.

Antenatal classes and baby-led weaning courses are also being considered for the future.

  • Ely Milks is a free support group held every Monday between 10am and 11:30am at the Paradise Centre, in Ely. For more information, see the Ely Milks Facebook page. The group is also appealing for volunteers.