Happy National Mothering Week!
See mums, hear mums, support mums is the theme for National Mothering Week in 2026.
It was great to have the opportunity to present the webinar for National Mothering Week on Tuesday night this week (which was also International Day of the Midwife for those who celebrate). I spoke about some new ideas that are kind-of based on old ideas about the changes that occur with becoming a mother (it’s not just the birth it seems). Losing sight of how transformative this change has been our undoing in some ways.
But maybe we have come around again to recognising that some life events are not just done and gone, and that our ancestors knew this and created practices that recognised this and made it an expectation. Even young children, where these practices were commonplace, would grow up knowing what new mothers needed because they saw it (and participated and contributed in it) being given to their family members and their neighbours.
When we lost some of these practices (by living far away from our extended families, busy lifestyles or because we thought they were not a necessary part of being a modern mother) we also lost knowledge about important and normal things like what mums might need and how to ask or offer.
Rediscovering the importance of these rituals and customs really does help everyone. And ABA is here to help – with information about how to support new mums and to fill the gaps with easy access to ongoing breastfeeding support.
A reminder that ABA’s 2026 Annual Health Professional Seminars, Breastfeeding: care that continues, will wind up on 31 May, so you only have a few weeks to view both the live and the online programs and slightly less time if you still want to register and view it all before it closes.
Our presenters were very well received at our in-person events back in March and we have also had great feedback on the online program. Register here.
Planning has already commenced for the Health Professional Seminars series in 2027 – so stay tuned for more details later this year (meanwhile the organising team might need to take a tiny well-earned break 😉).
Have a great rest of National Mothering Week and talk soon.
Jen Hocking
