Hi everyone, 

Another fast month has flown by and we have had much excitement! On 18 August we launched our brand-new website (not the health professional one). If you haven’t already seen it please make sure you visit and explore. We have been working hard behind the scenes to completely reshape the online experience for our members and visitors – it’s quite the change to say the least! 

You will notice the following features that we are thrilled with: 

  • Breastfeeding information structured by age and stage so you can easily find the resources you need, when you need them 
  • A powerful new search function – to quickly connect you to the information you’re looking for 
  • An interactive map of your local community, connecting you to local group events, available breast pumps for hire, baby care rooms and much more 

Check it out www.breastfeeding.asn.au  

In World Breastfeeding Week, ABA launched the Community Protection for Infants and Young Children in Bushfire Emergencies Project. This ground-breaking work has received $685,000 in funding from the Australian Government and will transform emergency response to the caregivers of young children in Australia. You can help us to make this project a success, by reading more of this month’s feature article and sharing the survey with families you support and maybe even completing it yourself.  

Looking to sharpen up your assessment skills? We are offering our very popular one day workshop ‘Take lactation histories and conduct breastfeeding assessments’ on Saturday, 10 September 2022.  

By the end of this workshop, learners will be able to: 

  • Prepare to take a lactation history and breastfeeding assessment   
  • Take a lactation history 
  • Conduct a breastfeeding assessment 
  • Maintain knowledge of human lactation and boundaries of practice 

Find out more and register here www.aba.asn.au/workshops   

You may have heard that ABA’s WHO Code Taskforce is in the process of collecting WHO Code breaches. Thank you to those of you have already contributed WHO Code breach reports; we have been very happy with the response. So much so that we have decided to continue collecting the breach reports beyond the planned cut-off date. So keep them coming in! These will help us draft a report of the current state of play to use in our advocacy for the full legislation of The Code and subsequent WHA Resolutions.  

If you spot any unethical advertising of formula and milk drinks for babies up to 36 months of age, bottles/teats, or foods for under 6 months of age, you can help by reporting it via our survey. To read more about the project and report a breach, click here. 

Susan Tawia and I are looking forward to attending and presenting at the MCaFHNA National conference and ACM National Conference – please come and say hi if you are there! We love to chat!  

Thank you for all your ongoing support,  

Naomi Hull

Senior Manager Breastfeeding Information and Research