Healthworks is bringing its breastfeeding support work back into the public eye in Newcastle Upon Tyne next week with a New Borns, New Norms session aimed at new parents and the families around them. The charity will hold the event at 1 Strawberry Lane on Wednesday June 3 from 6pm to 7.30pm.

The timing matters because the session follows a big latch on celebration Healthworks held in May at Newcastle City Library, part of a global initiative to support breastfeeding. Now the charity is turning that attention into a practical evening for expectant parents who want help before the early weeks begin.

Jennifer Fowler, speaking for Healthworks, said the event is an antenatal education session “with a bit of a twist,” because it asks more than just how to feed a baby. She said the session looks at early infant behaviour and how families can build a strong bond from the start, and she encouraged expectant parents to bring their close family and friends along too.

Fowler said the session will be friendly and interactive, with refreshments available, and described it as a chance for people to learn, chat and connect in a relaxed setting. That approach fits the charity’s wider Best Start programme, which offers breastfeeding support and peer support to families across the region.

Healthworks says the work is needed because many parents want to breastfeed but run into problems early on. Fowler said successful breastfeeding is much more likely when families get encouragement, skilled support and understanding from their community, and she said that support can matter well beyond the newborn stage.

She said breastfeeding can help protect babies from infections, diabetes, asthma, heart disease, obesity, childhood cancers and sudden infant death, while also protecting mothers from some cancers and heart disease. Fowler added that giving children the best start in life has a lifelong effect on health, wellbeing and opportunity, which is why the charity sees community events like this as more than a one-off advice session.

The next confirmed step is clear: Healthworks will host New Borns, New Norms at 1 Strawberry Lane on Wednesday June 3, and it is using the evening to try to turn awareness into confidence for Newcastle families at the point when many of them need it most.