Hi everyone,

Welcome to ABA’s monthly news on breastfeeding and lactation.

ABA’s bushfire project team have been busy engaging with emergency responders, service providers and community members in Eurobodalla Shire, NSW, to implement findings from the Babies and Young Children in the Black Summer (BiBS) Study. The team have held two of several collaborative workshops to assist organisations to update their emergency plans with the specific needs of infants and young children in mind. A growing collection of resources from the project and the full BiBS Study report are freely available.

ABA’s book for mothers (previously known as Breastfeeding…naturally) has had a name change and a complete overhaul. All the evidence has been reviewed and updated as required, the language has been simplified and it has been given a fresh new look in keeping with the refresh of the ABA website. Importantly, the information on engorgement, localised breast inflammation and mastitis has been updated. Health professionals can buy copies of the book online at ABA’s Marketplace.

In Melbourne in October, Susan Tawia made a well-received oral presentation at the LCANZ conference entitled Smoothing the bumps: using a consensus process to develop best practice guidelines for preventing and treating breast inflammation and mastitis. You can access a free downloadable fact sheet (Inflammation mastitis) and a low-cost eLearning module on this topic to update your skills.

And lastly, mark your calendars – our Annual Health Professional Seminar Series is returning in 2024! Stay tuned as we reveal our line-up of expert speakers in the field of infant and maternal health – you won’t want to miss this one! Early bird registration for ‘Breastfeeding: nurturing, nutrition’ opens in November. For more information, click here.

Thank you all for your ongoing support,

Susan Tawia

Breastfeeding Researcher and Health Professional Educator

Learning and Innovation Team