Hi everyone,

Welcome to the first edition of Professional Express for 2022.

Earlier this month, ABA was shocked to hear of a mother in Queensland who was allegedly separated from her newborn in hospital due to a member of her household being a casual contact of a positive COVID case. The mother was said to have highlighted her need to breastfeed her baby, but this was not accommodated. ABA supports advice from the World Health Organisation and the federal and state Health Departments not to separate mothers and babies due to COVID status. In 2022 ABA will have a renewed focus on advocacy as we call on the government to replace the MAIF Agreement with legislation implementing the WHO Code in full. This month we held our first WHO Code Taskforce steering group meeting and look forward to giving you more insights into the project over the coming months. If you’re interested in learning more about the WHO Code, professional members have access to free online training on the WHO Code here.

This year’s Health Professional Seminar Series is returning with live seminar events in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. The 2022 theme A thirst for knowledge highlights our ongoing endeavours to ensure breastfeeding support and care in Australia is based on sound research.  Those who register before 31 January 2022 will go into the draw to win one night of luxury accommodation at one of our live seminar events in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Winners are limited to one per location. Get in quick, you only have a few days left. Click here for more information.

We also have a new health professional’s eLearning module available on breastfeeding counselling skills. This series of 5 interactive study modules (approximately 5 hours completion time) provides an in-depth understanding of breastfeeding counselling skills. The course is approved for IBLCE for 5 R CERPs and the Australian College of Midwives for 5 ACM – CDP hours. If you would like to recommend the module to your workplace there are discounts are available for health services who wish to purchase for multiple staff members. You can access the module here.

Because our volunteers are gradually returning from their break, we will bring you a reduced number of research summaries this month.

Looking forward to seeing some of you at the HP Seminars – make sure you come and say ‘hi’.

Naomi Hull

Senior Manager Breastfeeding Information and Research