Ammehjelpen

What Ammehjelpen does

Ammehjelpen is a Norway-based voluntary non-profit organization (frivillig organisasjon) founded in 1968, headquartered at Postboks 30, 1431 Ås, with a registered presence in BIRI, Gjøvik. It operates Norway's largest online information resource on breastfeeding and breast milk, serving pregnant women and new mothers with free, evidence-based guidance. The organization is built on a knowledge-based information platform rather than on proprietary software: the core product is the ammehjelpen.no website containing over 100 articles across categories such as breastfeeding initiation, latch and positions, pain, sleep and night feeding, pumping and storage, weaning, mental health, and special situations, with content reviewed by IBCLC-certified consultants.

The product portfolio is layered. At the consumer layer, Ammehjelpen provides a self-serve website, a volunteer-run phone and email breastfeeding support hotline, a closed Facebook group (Ammehjelpsgruppen) for peer support, an Instagram presence, a newsletter, multilingual printed brochures and web content (Norwegian, nynorsk, Northern Sami, English, Polish), and produced breastfeeding videos. At the healthcare-professional layer, the organization promotes the AmmE-læring e-learning program, runs the annual Ammehjelpseminars professional seminar, and distributes brochures through maternity wards, health stations, and doctors' offices. Volunteer helpers coordinate through a separate ammehjelper.no portal. Reach is substantial relative to organizational size: approximately 650,000 annual website users and over 30,000 inquiries per year are handled by a team of only 9 paid employees.

The business model is non-commercial. Ammehjelpen provides services free of charge and is funded through government subsidies, donations (including recurring monthly and one-time giving via bidra.ammehjelpen.no), and volunteer labor. The organization has publicly stated a minimum sustainable government subsidy of 5 million Norwegian kroner. It is governed by an independent board (Sentralstyret) with a daily manager (daglig leder), is not owned by any parent, and is not publicly traded. Strategically, Ammehjelpen positions itself as aligned with WHO/UNICEF's Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative, partners with Helsedirektoratet, Folkehelseinstituttet, Global Health Media, and Trygg mammamedisin (RELIS), and absorbed additional institutional responsibility after FHI's Enhet for amming was dissolved on January 1, 2024.

Name

Ammehjelpen

Legal name

Ammehjelpen

Website

https://ammehjelpen.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ammehjelpen is a Norwegian voluntary non-profit founded in 1968 that provides free, evidence-based breastfeeding information and support to pregnant women, new mothers, and healthcare professionals through its website, phone and email helpline, and content in multiple languages.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Breastfeeding Support Services

NAICS

Social Assistance (624)

akta.pro primary industry

Lactation, Postpartum & Perinatal Support Services (HLAFAJAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG)

Keywords

• Breastfeeding support
• Lactation guidance
• Maternal health information
• Newborn nutrition advice
• Postpartum support services

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ammehjelpen operates Norway's largest online information resource on breastfeeding and breast milk, providing over 100 evidence-based articles via ammehjelpen.no. The organization complements this digital library with free personalized support through volunteer breastfeeding helpers accessible by phone and email, a closed Facebook support group (Ammehjelpsgruppen), printed multilingual brochures, educational videos, and the AmmE-læring e-learning program for healthcare personnel.

Product overview

Ammehjelpen operates as a voluntary organization providing Norway's largest online information resource about breastfeeding and breast milk. The primary product is the Ammehjelpen.no website containing over 100 articles, supported by a volunteer helper network accessible through the ammehjelper.no portal. The product portfolio includes the AmmE-læring e-learning program for health personnel, educational videos, printed brochures available in multiple languages (Norwegian, Northern Sami, English, Polish), a newsletter subscription service, a closed Facebook support group (Ammehjelpsgruppen), professional seminars (fagseminar), and a breastfeeding support hotline. All content is evidence-based and aimed at both parents and healthcare professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ammehjelpen.no website

Quantifiable outcome

• Responds to over 30,000 inquiries annually and reaches 650,000 website users

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Helsedirektoratet (Norwegian Directorate of Health)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelsedirektoratet took over responsibility from January 1, 2024 for supporting healthcare services in implementing WHO/UNICEF's Mother-Baby Friendly standard, including Baby-Friendly Health Stations, as well as contributing to ensuring healthcare professionals have necessary competence and parents receive knowledge-based information and guidance.
• Folkehelseinstituttet (FHI) - Norwegian Institute of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreviously housed the National Competence Service for Breastfeeding (Enhet for amming) which was closed January 1, 2024. FHI continues with research and analysis on breastfeeding topics and maintains pages about breastfeeding and breast milk for healthcare professionals.
• Global Health MediaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmmehjelpen recommends Global Health Media's breastfeeding films which are available in many languages. The films come in different versions for parents and healthcare professionals.
• WHO/UNICEFmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmmehjelpen supports and promotes WHO/UNICEF's Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative standards and guidelines. The organization aligns its information with international recommendations on breastfeeding.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BabyCenter: Large global pregnancy and parenting information platform including substantial breastfeeding content. Represents the broad digital incumbent Ammehjelpen competes with for search-driven breastfeeding traffic.
• World Health Organization (WHO) Infant and Young Child Feeding: UN agency producing the global breastfeeding recommendations Ammehjelpen disseminates. A high-level incumbent whose guidelines define the standard Ammehjelpen implements at the national level.
• UNICEF Baby-Friendly Initiative: Global standards body that sets the Mother-Baby Friendly framework Ammehjelpen explicitly aligns with. Acts as a policy/standards incumbent in the same maternal-infant nutrition space.

Direct peers

• KellyMom: Evidence-based online breastfeeding and parenting information resource widely used by mothers and lactation professionals. Competes directly with the ammehjelpen.no content library as a destination for trusted breastfeeding articles.
• La Leche League International: Global volunteer-led nonprofit providing mother-to-mother breastfeeding support, information, and education. Operates the same model as Ammehjelpen: free peer support, accredited leader network, and evidence-based content, but at international scale.
• Breastfeeding USA: US-based volunteer-driven nonprofit providing breastfeeding information and accredited counselor support. Mirrors Ammehjelpen's IBCLC-equivalent trained volunteer model and free public service.
• Lansinoh: Commercial leader in lactation products (pumps, nipple creams) that also operates an extensive breastfeeding and pumping guidance resource. Competes with Ammehjelpen for breastfeeding information traffic while monetizing adjacent products.
• Australian Breastfeeding Association: Australia's national nonprofit providing breastfeeding information, a volunteer counsellor hotline, and e-learning for health professionals — a near-identical operating model to Ammehjelpen in a different geography.

Emerging players

• Global Health Media Project: Nonprofit producing multilingual breastfeeding and newborn-care videos. Ammehjelpen already formally recommends its films, making it both a content supplier and a closely adjacent emerging player.

Regional players

• NHS Better Health Start for Life: UK public-health portal offering evidence-based breastfeeding and infant feeding information backed by the National Health Service. Closely analogous to Ammehjelpen in mission and government alignment, but UK-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ammehjelpen
• Instagraminstagram.com/ammehjelpen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ammehjelpen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ammehjelpen