Giving Tameside’s pre-term babies the best start in life with ‘liquid gold’ first breast milk

Almost all pre-term babies born at Tameside Hospital now receive colostrum – the first breast milk mothers produce – within two days of birth, thanks to an acclaimed improvement project led by Tameside & Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Integrated Infant Feeding team.

National health leaders say giving newborns colostrum as early as possible helps early bonding and supports breastfeeding in the long term. Tameside has lower rates of breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks after birth compared to the England national average.

Between August 2025 and January 2026, 96% of babies born at less than 34 weeks gestation received colostrum within two days of birth. This up from a baseline of 47% in June 2025.

Sometimes referred to as ‘liquid gold’ for its yellow colour and high concentration of infection-fighting immune cells, colostrum is the first breast milk mothers produce. Expectant mothers usually start to produce colostrum from the 20^th week of pregnancy. This can be collected and stored from 36 weeks to feed the baby once it is born.

Colostrum is especially important for pre-term babies, who are more vulnerable to dangerous infections.

By working closely with new and expectant parents, the Integrated Infant Feeding team aimed to improve the number of babies born at less than 34 weeks gestation who receive colostrum within two days of birth.

They introduced some simple but effective changes, such as placing a bookmark in the Trust’s birth register to remind staff about the importance of colostrum and putting up a noticeboard in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to monitor the number of babies who received colostrum within 48 hours. The team hosted UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) training on breastfeeding for NICU staff, and the infant feeding support workers now attend pre-term and diabetic clinics to provide education for new and expectant parents.

The Trust has also taken advantage of existing services like Greater Manchester Blood Bikes - a charity which transports blood, samples, vaccines, donor breast milk and any other urgently required medical items to hospitals and healthcare sites via motorbike.

When very poorly babies need to be transferred to higher intensity units, their mum is not always well enough to go with them. Greater Manchester Blood Bikes are now on hand to deliver the harvested colostrum to other hospitals in the area, helping the most vulnerable newborns access that first vital medicine without delay.

Parents in Tameside have welcomed the support on offer. At 26 weeks, expectant mums Nicola and Jenna were told that their son, Ziggy, was likely to be born pre-term. While they had not originally planned to breastfeed, a conversation with an infant feeding support worker helped them make an informed decision to collect colostrum ahead of the birth and continue with expressed breastmilk afterwards.

Nicola said: “During a midwife appointment, we were also able to speak to the early infant feeding team. Receiving the information early meant we weren’t overwhelmed.

“When Ziggy was born the nurses made sure skin to skin contact was offered as soon as possible and we were given guidance on colostrum harvesting. We believe that all this made a huge difference and has contributed to Ziggy thriving and needing minimal respiratory support during his time in NICU.”

The success of the project means that the smallest and most vulnerable babies receive all the benefits of colostrum as early as possible, supporting their long‑term health.

“We wanted it to be a cultural shift, not just a compliance exercise,” said Fiona Munro-Muotune, Clinical & Strategic Lead for Infant Feeding and BFI Accreditation, “We’re seeing more mums coming in with harvested colostrum and parents seem to be more aware of it.

“The long-term aim is to expand the project beyond pre-term babies. We want to make sure all breastfeeding mothers are supported to express within two hours of birth and all babies, regardless of gestation, receive colostrum within 24 hours.”

The project has been recognised for its positive impact on patient safety at the 2026 HSJ Patient Safety Awards, where it is shortlisted for ‘Maternity, Midwifery and Neonatal Safety Initiative of the Year’. The winners will be announced on 28 September 2026.