Hi everyone,

I hope everyone is travelling well wherever you are in the world. It feels as though the year is flying by.

This month we have a new addition to our eLearning modules, Wellbeing in the Age of COVID-19. Liz Crowe (Wellbeing Counsellor and Educator) discusses how wellbeing can be built during uncertain and challenging times and identifies strategies that can be applied to assist with self-care and wellbeing.

Key content areas:

  • What do we need to worry about in 2020?
  • Anticipatory, anxiety and uncertainty.
  • What builds wellbeing?

Professional development points can be gained (IBLCE: 1 L CERP and ACM: 1 CPD hour) and a certificate will also be issued upon completion. This module is free to complete!

This module and all other accredited eLearning modules can be accessed via the ABA Professional website: https://abaprofessional.asn.au/professional-development/.

We also have some upcoming workshops. Are you looking to increase your breastfeeding skills and knowledge to better support breastfeeding families? Register today for our one day workshops in November – Take lactation histories and conduct breastfeeding assessment on Saturday 7 November 2021 OR Manage Breastfeeding Situations and Problems on Saturday 21 November 2021 and gain practical skills to enhance your professional practice! For more information and to register, visit: https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/training/courses/diploma-breastfeeding-management

This month’s new downloadable fact sheet is about the use of Breastfeeding supplementers

Update. We had previously noted that the second stage of our membership price adjustment would occur on from 1 January, 2021. However, we have made the decision to delay this a little longer (to 30 March, 2021) in recognition of the challenges faced in 2020 with many families and individuals impacted by wage cuts or job losses.

Are you planning some research in the field of breastfeeding/lactation? Entries are now open for the Mary Paton Research Award for 2021 and will close on 30 June, 2021. The Mary Paton Research Award was established to honour the founder of the Australian Breastfeeding Association (formerly the Nursing Mothers’ Association of Australia), Mary Paton AM. You can see previous winners and their papers here.

I had the pleasure of attending the LCANZ Online Seminar earlier this month where I presented the results of our soon to be published paper, Providing breastfeeding support during the COVID-19 pandemic: Concerns of mothers who contacted the Australian Breastfeeding Association. You will be able to read the full paper in the November edition of Breastfeeding Review. There will be another opportunity to hear the presentation as part of the 2021 Health Professional Seminar Series. This paper will be presented as part of the webinar series with Dr Karleen Gribble discussing the broader context of infant feeding in emergencies and how a pandemic can impact families.  The World Health Organization have released an informative update titled What we know about Breastfeeding and newborn care in the context of COVID-19. You will find information around the importance of keeping mothers and babies together regardless of their COVID-19 status.

This past month we have made two submissions, one to the public consultation of the National Preventative Health Strategy and another to ARACY’s Moving Forward from the Early Years Summit. In both cases breastfeeding or even any mention of infant feeding from 0 to 2yrs is not a part of the existing drafts.

Enjoy this month’s newsletter,

Naomi Hull

Senior Manager, Breastfeeding Information and Research