Hello everyone
I have started in a new role at ABA this month and yes, I am still here with the monthly e-news.
My new role is Lactation and Breastfeeding Information Specialist with the Learning and Innovation Team (LIT) at the National Support Office. I am gradually getting acquainted with my new role and my delightful colleagues in LIT.
In my new role I will be making a broader contribution to Professional Express which I am already enjoying. I will be writing most of the research summaries for each edition with occasional guest reviews from content specialists. I have included some discussion starter questions with each article too just for your own use or if you want to discuss articles or topics with colleagues. Thanks to everyone who has been involved in writing these research summaries previously. This is a critical way for us to share the important steps being taken in lactation-related research in Australia and globally.
Just a quick reminder that ABA’s 2025 Health Professional Seminars are now ONLINE and available for viewing until the end of May. If you attended a seminar in person in March you will have access to the online program too. If you purchase the online program, you also see a recording of the in-person presentations.
And in related news, Monday 5 May was the International Day of the Midwife. But this year everyone gets the gifts! Use the coupon to save $40 on registration for the online program NOW.
National Mothering Week is also now upon us and runs from 5 to 11 May.
ABA celebrates NMW every year and this year you can watch wholesome and heartwarming content on our webpage as mums talk about the friends and the support they found at their local ABA groups. This could be just what you need to spark your conversations with new mums and families as they get ready to embark on their new adventures in parenting.
Normalising help-seeking is key for new mums who are likely to have been competent and autonomous individuals in their pre-baby lives. They may see asking for help as a sign of weakness. As we know, nothing could be further from the truth. It takes a village as they say, and ABA is there with a readymade village via ABA Virtual Village membership as well as over 120 local groups Australia-wide. In ABA groups no-one is there to fix or mold or wonder why a person is there. Getting through the early weeks and months of motherhood is a task that is generally achieved better in the company of kind and supportive others.
Apparently the venn diagram of health professionals and mothers shows significant overlap, so Happy Mothering Week to all the parents and all the carers of mothers!
And I hope you all have a delightful month.
Jen Hocking
