Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is strongly advocated in Austria and a great deal of support is available to mothers who are having difficulties (see below). Compared to some countries, attitudes towards breastfeeding are very liberal and it is acceptable to discreetly breastfeed more or less anywhere in public. For those who are not so comfortable with the idea of breastfeeding in public, there are a few stores which provide special areas for breastfeeding mothers, notably:

Dohnal – Haus des Kindes on Kaertnerstrasse
Leiner on Mariahilferstrasse
Ikea

Getting Help

If you stay in the hospital after the birth (Wochenbett) there will be nurses and breastfeeding specialists to help you overcome any initial hurdles. Ideally, by the time you leave the hospital you will have breastfeeding well established and your milk will have come in. However, it is quite normal that it takes considerably longer before you and your baby get the hang of it. Once you have left the hospital, advice and support is available from a number of places.

There is a wide range of breastfeeding groups (Stillgruppen) where breastfeeding mothers meet with a qualified breastfeeding/lactation consultant or midwife to discuss any issues or questions they may have. Alternatively, you can opt for one-to-one advice with a qualified lactation consultant or midwife.

La Leche Liga
Maria Wiener
1050, Zentagasse 6/13
Tel: 0650 871 2196
The La Leche lactation consultants offer telephone advice as well as weekly breastfeeding groups. They also offer information sheets and books in english. Call to find out who your local English-speaking contact is.

IBCLC Consultants
You can contact one of a number of lactation consultants with the IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) qualification. For a listing please see www.stillen.at. They may suggest you attend the breastfeeding group they run or offer one-to-one consultations.

Midwife Centre (Hebammenzentrum)
Lazarettgasse 6/2/1
9th District
Tel: 408 8022
Many midwives offer breastfeeding support. For a list of independent midwives see www.hebammen.at (under Hebammen Suche). The midwives centre (Hebammenzentrum) also offers one-to-one advice for mothers with breastfeeding problems.

Nanaya
Zollergasse 37
7th District
Tel: 523 1711
Nanaya is a centre offering a number of courses for parents-to-be and new parents, as well as breastfeeding groups.

Geburtshaus Nussdorf
Heiligenstädterstrasse 217
19th District
Tel. 3704937
Email: info@geburtshaus.at
The Nussdorf birthing home has a breastfeeding group every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month.

F.E.M.
Bastiengasse 36-38
18th District
Tel: 476 15 5771
F.E.M. is a centre offering a number of courses for parents-to-be and new parents, including breastfeeding groups.

Breast Pumps

Alongside the commercial, manual hand pumps which can be bought in most baby equipment stores, it is possible to rent an electric breast pump if you intend to express milk regularly. The cost of the rented breast pump is mostly covered by the Krankenkasse by presenting a voucher (Verordnungsschein) which will be issued to you in hospital or by your GP. The main store which rents electronic breast pumps is bständig which has numerous locations throughout Vienna.

Word of Mouth

One of our members recommends Anne-Marie Kern, 02236 72336, as someone who is really qualified and a member of the IBCLC.  She is "absolutely brilliant and very experienced," even lecturing at the hospitals in Austria teaching doctors and nurses.

Anne-Marie Kern in turn highly recommends Claudia Versluis at Nanaya for help. She is also very knowledgeable and speaks English.