Hi everyone,
Here we are almost at the end of the year already and what a year it has been! It has been wonderful to see some semblance of normal life returning especially for our Victorian colleagues.
Last week we celebrated the launch of our new podcast and blog ‘Breastfeeding … with ABA’.
Season 1 focuses on the early days of breastfeeding with a new baby. Search for ‘Breastfeeding … with ABA’ on your favourite podcast app and rate, review and subscribe! Episodes will drop fortnightly. There are eight episodes all up.
Here’s a little about podcast episode 1:
Why are breastmilk and breastfeeding important? What is the Australian Breastfeeding Association? In this episode Kate, Kathleen and Sky talk about some of the amazing qualities of breastmilk, the joys of breastfeeding and the dedicated group of volunteer counsellors and community educators in Australia who are there to support you on your breastfeeding journey.
***Important -Review of Australian Dietary Guidelines***
On 17 July 2020, the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt, announced funding for a review of the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) will oversee the review.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines (NHMRC, 2013) include recommendations for adults and children and has specific recommendations for:
- pregnant women
- breastfeeding women
- young children aged 2 to 3 years
- toddlers aged 13 to 23 months
- infants aged 7 to 12 months.
In the past, review of the Australian Dietary Guidelines included review of the Infant Feeding Guidelines (NHMRC, 2012) which makes recommendations for feeding of infants to the end of 6 months.
Since the announcement, the NHMRC has received many questions about how people can get involved in the review of the Australian Dietary Guidelines. To ensure all those interested are given the opportunity to contribute to the review, they have created the Dietary Guidelines contact list. All interested stakeholders are invited to submit their contact details at any time through the review process. The contact list will be used throughout the review to communicate opportunities for involvement and to provide updates on the work.
If you are interested in being involved or updated, you can subscribe to the Dietary Guidelines contact list here: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-advice/nutrition/australian-dietary-guidelines-review.
The NHMRC are also now seeking experts to form an Expert Committee to review the Adult Dietary Guidelines.
Applications are due before 3pm (AEDST) Wednesday 16th December 2020.
In the past, the experts who review the Infant Feeding Guidelines are drawn from the Expert Committee who review the Adult Dietary Guidelines.
NHMRC has opened an invitation for suitably qualified experts to submit an expression of interest to join the review of the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. Please see details on the NHMRC website.
NSW Health Maternity Care Policy
The NSW Ministry of Health is developing the NSW Health Maternity Care Policy, and has just released the consultation draft: Connecting, Listening and Responding: Maternity Care in NSW. This will be the overarching policy for maternity services and will replace the current Towards Normal Birth Policy.
The public consultation period is now open. All stakeholders are invited to provide feedback using this SurveyMonkey link.
Feedback should only take around 20 minutes to complete. The consultation period will close on Friday 11 December, 2020.
***Exciting updates to your professional membership package coming 2021***
In the New Year ABA Professional Members will have exclusive access to even more ‘e-learning modules’ with professional development points at no extra cost.
Plus you will also have discounted prices for our education program coming next year.
Stay tuned for news of further online educational opportunities to support your work with mothers, babies and their families.
It is getting close to that time when we again seek your feedback on our Professional Membership. Keep your eyes out for the survey link in your inbox. It will be coming to you in early December. Your valuable feedback is very much appreciated.
Take care,
Naomi Hull
Senior Manager Breastfeeding Information and Research
