Talking with Tamerah

Hello Everyone, Winter is definitely here and the days are very cold. Time to rug and up and crank up the heating! Canberrans often go into hibernation during winter but we really do have a jam packed number of months coming up. Perhaps it will encourage us all to stay awake this year. Apart from the great meetings we have a number of events to be part of. Mount Rogers is really making an effort to put our face forward to the local community and tell them we are here. Have a look what is on and see if you can help out! We have some new bubs to welcome into our group (see the Stork News). We don’t always know when our members have increased their family, so feel free to contact me if this has happened in your family recently so we can congratulate you in the next bulletin! There are some jobs that need filling for the group. Have a look and see if you would like to take one of them on. They are fairly low key and personally rewarding! On another note, the Student Reconciliation Day Feed and Change Space ended up being cancelled on June 2nd due to the very wet conditions. Nevertheless thanks to all those who volunteered to help out. We have another day coming up. See if you can be part of this one and mark it in your diaries! That’s all from me now. Take care and I hope to catch up with you soon. Luv, - Tamerah

From the Editor

I am very excited to say that this bulletin edition I received an influx of contributions from our members. Perhaps you have enjoyed reading articles in previous editions written by members and thought you would give it a go? Or maybe the chill of winter and the waning light has kept you inside madly typing to keep your fingers warm! Whatever the reason, please keep it up! Your contributions make the bulletin relevant to our local group. If you would like to write an article, contribute a personal story or photograph, or you just want to make a suggestion about a topic then please email me. Happy mothering. - Renee

Historic day for mothers and babies - WHO replaces existing baby weight charts, which undermine breastfeeding.

Media release from www.breastfeeding.asn.au

The Australian Breastfeeding Association (formerly Nursing Mothers') warmly welcomes new baby growth charts released by the World Health Organisation, urging all Australian governments and health professionals to adopt them immediately. Existing charts have undermined breastfeeding because they are based on growth patterns of formula fed babies. Health experts believe the old growth charts have contributed to childhood obesity and associated problems like heart disease or diabetes later in life.

Charts used in Australia for decades to advise mothers on optimal size have been biased by the inappropriate growth patterns of formula fed infants, meaning that breastfed infants could be shown as underweight. Research since the 1990s has shown that formula fed babies gain excessive weight, because of their higher energy intake.

Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) President Margaret Grove says the new WHO charts were a historic change for mothers and babies. "We have known for over a decade that current weight charts mislead mothers and their health advisors about normal growth. Many mothers were wrongly told their breastfed babies were underweight, and to introduce formula or solids before 6 months."

"Finding out that the current weight charts set excessive growth standards for breastfed babies is small comfort to past generations of mothers - and many who weaned needlessly may feel sad or even angry that they were misled - but now at least they may let go of the guilt", Ms Grove says.

The new WHO charts are based on data from exclusively breastfed babies, which shows what is biologically normal. WHO research involved over 8000 children from 6 countries, brought up in environments where breastfeeding, good diet, and prevention and control of infection prevailed. Leading Australian pediatrician Dr Gillian Opie, of Melbourne, has backed the ABA call for Australia to change to a growth chart based on breastfed babies. "We simply can't afford to continue practices that promote premature weaning, obesity and later chronic disease," she says. International infant nutrition researcher Professor Tim Cole of the UK Institute of Child Health at University College in London says the new charts are urgently needed. "During their first year, breastfed babies do not put on as much weight as those fed on formula milk. Breastfed babies are less likely to be fat later in life and to develop complications such as diabetes and heart disease".

This is because breastfed babies self-regulate their energy intake to lower levels and have different metabolic rates and sleeping patterns. The WHO recommends babies be fed solely on breastmilk up to 6 months of age, with introduction of appropriate complementary foods and continued breastfeeding to 2 years and beyond.

"Latest Australian statistics show only around one in ten babies are getting just breastmilk at 6 months", says Ms Grove. Australian breastfeeding management expert and historian Virginia Thorley says "the new weight charts are long overdue because of the unnecessary distress caused to many breastfeeding mothers for years. Because of bad science in compiling the old charts mothers were told their normal babies where not thriving, when the charts were the problem."

For well known author and lactation consultant Maureen Minchin, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. In her 1985 book Breastfeeding Matters she warned that artificial feeding of infants was the biggest uncontrolled experiment in human history. "As the research results from these sort of studies come in", she says, "we can begin to see the harmful effects of this regrettable experiment on mothers and babies. These new WHO charts are long overdue".

Up and Coming Events

National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (NADOC) Family Day: Sunday July 2nd

The ABA provides a feed and change space for this community event. It involves setting up a space to be comfortable for parents who might wish to feed or change their infant, minding the area and handing out information packs. Contact Tamerah if you can take on a 2 hour shift.

Over the trolley: 13th July, 10th August, and 5th October (Thursday 3- 5pm)

This involves working with Gungahlin Child and Family Centre for a few hours once a month to distribute balloons to the local children and hand out ABA packs to mums that pass by. It only take 1 1⁄2 - 2 hours and children are welcome. The event is located in front of the Gungahlin Woolworths. Anyone is welcome to participate. Contact Tamerah if you are interested.

Don't forget our exciting membership drive!

Every person who joins the Australian Breastfeeding Association, or renews his or her membership between 1 March and 31 August 2006 will get a free copy of "Breastfeeding Naturally", normally valued at $34.95! This will be valid for subscriptions, concession subscriptions and renewals. It won't apply to 6-month gift memberships. It will also, of course, be available to anyone who joins through breastpump hire. Renew now and take advantage of this great offer!

Weaning - A Personal Story

Recently I took part in a Bath and Feed at Miles Franklin Pre School. It was one of three such occurrences that week, and it seemed to be a successful week of washing babies' tushes! The kids just loved it and were very good at sharing their own stories and ideas. It is always fun to be a part of these things, especially for me now that my youngest (and last) has weaned. It was a momentous week for me, full of mixed emotions; I have been pregnant and/or breastfeeding for the past 7 1⁄2 years so I was well over it! But in many ways, I didn’t realise how accustomed to it I had become and how much a part of my life it was: quieten that child, give him a "boobie"; perk up another, give her a "boobie"; fix that owie, give it some "Mummy Milk"... Tiredness was just the norm, and although I can't lump being tired exclusively with breastfeeding let's face it, sustaining another human being does make us more tired! Perhaps it’s Nature's way of slowing us down to take care of the next generation? Whatever the reasons, I'm glad I did it. And I do strongly believe that in so doing I've made the world a better place. I am now a "Post-Breastfeeder". Some of my energy levels have returned, and I am beginning to get my head around venturing into a business world, a step for me in a new and old direction. Although my breasts have now shrunk to the size of bee stings, I still take comfort and pride in knowing those bee stings sustained three human beings! Kim

Highlights from ACT/Southern NSW Branch Conference

The conference had loads of things happening and having just looked at the program and summaries I can now remember even more. However I only agreed to do highlights so here goes! Arriving on time (relatively speaking) on Saturday morning,
with 3 adults (Me, Sally M and Susana), 2 babies (Sophie and Kyla) and stuff was a good start.

Fiona Giles' talk about her new book The Secret Life of Breasts was mind expanding, blowing even, and fairly shocking to a number of people from the comments I heard. Whatever I may have thought the book would be about from the title and cover (2 daisies on a field) it wasn't. Fiona looked at other things breast milk is used for: such as food for adults, in the porn industry, non normative feeding i.e. not babies and breast milk in a religious context. This was all mesmerizing even if you didn't agree with it or simply had never considered breast milk in that light. This book is in our group library.

Dr Julie Smith spoke about the Time use Survey of New Mothers. What an amazing woman! She has many hats within ABA and researches for the Australian Centre for Economic Research on Health in the ANU. Julie was an entertaining speaker and the topic was very relevant. So it was fascinating to see actual statistics attached to what mothers do at home. The other extraordinary bit was her story of when she was trying to convince her partner that the stop watch type timer for participants needed to have buttons that could be pushed for multitasking i.e. breastfeed while cooking dinner and supervising homework. Her partner said there was no such thing as multitasking, only tasks done sequentially fast. The whole group laughed.

Rhodanthe Lipsett spoke about her years of experience as a midwife, as detailed in her book called "No One right Way: A Handbook for Parents". She has lived and worked in many places including Broken Hill, Sydney, the UK, and Canberra. She first came to Canberra to work in the community with mothers and babies. Rhodanthe had many entertaining stories about working in her profession and what she personally learnt and was then able to pass on to the mothers. We also have her book in our group library.

On Saturday evening we enjoyed the Sleepless in Cooma pamper pyjama party. The babies managed to go to sleep, and stay asleep through it. They did wake when we went to bed though and mine seemed to want an awful lot of feeds overnight in a fairly chilly room.

It was great to be able to put faces to names and understand more about how ABA works as a whole. I also liked the Mothers Direct sales table and the group projects. I finally managed to get a super power t-shirt!

Jo-Anne

Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation

BFWA continues to advocate support for women to combine breastfeeding and work. While the ACT has not had any accreditations recently, there have been a few accreditations in other branches and we are working on several applications. Sadly Millenia Pullen, our ACT BFWA Branch coordinator had to resign to focus on completing her counsellor training, and her position remains vacant. On a positive note, BFWA is now being prepared as a unit of competency to fit with ABA's accreditation as a Registered Training Organisation. This will see all new trainees educated about BFWA so that they are competent to promote the program and discuss it with women seeking advice about return to work. The program will also be presented at a women and work conference "Our Work...Our Lives" in Queensland in July and we are sure to expand our networks in this forum. If anyone is interested in finding out more about how to promote breastfeeding in their workplace or helping out with BFWA, then they are welcome to contact Sally.

What’s new at Mothers Direct?

Some new things on the Mother's Direct website are:
• 'Music for Dreaming' double CD which has lullabies on one CD, and music for mothers on the other. The website says that the CD booklet has
advice on using music to settle babies, and during pregnancy, labour and birth;
• There is also a new winter-weight cotton breastfeeding T-shirt;
• Another new item is a children’s book called 'Love You Forever' by Robert Munsch, which the website says is about the story of how a baby boy goes through the stages of childhood and becomes a man, supported by his parents' love.

The Mothers Direct bumper winter catalogue featuring four extra pages of products is available now and a copy will be sent to each member with their July Essence magazine. You can order items by logging onto the website or by contacting Diana.

Winter is upon us – we need Puddle Wear!

The winter months are upon us, but our little ones still love to play outside, mud and puddles are such fun! Or, mum wants to bring messy
activities like painting inside out of the cold. The solution to both situations is ABA's own Puddle Wear! Puddle Wear turns every day into a fun day, no matter what the weather. Versatile over-pants, tops and suits keep babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers clean and dry in all conditions. And our famous Puddle Feeders are a must for every baby starting solids!
Did you know ABA has been making Puddle Wear in Australia for over 30 years? For a look at the full range check out the Mothers Direct catalogue at www.mothersdirect.com.au.

CE News

There are always so many interesting ways to be involved in ABA and your community as a community educator from: putting up displays, giving bath and feed presentations in preschools and schools, hospital visits, antenatal classes and breastfeeding education classes, helping run promotional events (eg BreastFest), fundraising, contact with health professionals, sending information to the media about our regular meetings and lots more. If you are keen to help other women and the broader community know more about the importance of breastfeeding, then you should consider becoming a community educator. Feel free to contact us to talk about what is involved.

Book Review
Fresh Milk: the secret life of breasts by Fiona Giles

Well having heard Fiona speak at conference I was quite keen to read this book. It is an easy read though given the extreme ideas within it you would probably want to read it a few times. Basically Fiona has looked at where breast milk is found and not found. For instance in religious paintings it was used quite often, with squirting milk being clearly seen in the painting. As breast milk has become less seen, less obvious in general it is becoming used in other non normative ways. Fiona is an advocate of not being discreet when feeding but letting the general population know this is normal and OK. An extremely interesting book which I must read again given the diverse places she managed to find breast milk in. Jo-Anne Follow this link for a complete list of the Mt Rogers Group Library.

Breastfeeding Education Classes

Class includes: An in-depth discussion of breastfeeding and breast milk; ABA booklet 'Introduction to Breastfeeding'; Informative handouts; Light supper; The opportunity to ask questions and talk about any concerns you may have. Course dates - Saturday 1st July 1-4:30pm Southside; Thursday evenings 3rd & 10th August Northside; Saturday 2nd September 1-4:30pm Southside; Saturday 14th October 7-9:30pm Northside. COST: $70 which inc 12 months subscription to ABA. Support person/partner free. For ENQUIRIES and BOOKINGS contact Mandy

Bubs needed for Breastfeeding Education Classes

August 3rd and 10th from 7.30- 9.30pm.
If there are any mums with new bubs who would like to come along and demonstrate breastfeeding to some expectant parents, please contact Tamerah.

Belconnen ABA Playgroup

Our playgroup is thriving and has built up a large group of regulars. Lots of people find it a great outlet for their older kids, as it kind of works like a coffee morning with activities. Everyone is welcome, and we have had aunties, grandmas, friends, non members, pregnant people and the usual suspects all turn up, and most come back. As you can see from the photos, kids (and mums) of all ages love it Ð thanks Susana for taking the shots. For further information please contact Lisa.

Multiple Birth Group

The Multiple Birth Group is part of ABA. If you are a mum of twins, triplets or more we would love to see you. We have a cuppa and a chat. If you would like a discussion please let me know and I can organise one. Older siblings are more than welcome. My daughter Jess loves to play with other children as her twin sisters are at school. We meet on the 1st Monday of the month on the Northside, from 10am till approx 12pm. If you would like to come please feel free to contact me, or just come on the day. I look forward to seeing you. Mandy

Code Watch: 25 years of Protecting Breastfeeding - World Breastfeeding Week August 1-7

The International Code aims to protect infant health, and to protect and support breastfeeding. They do not ban breastmilk substitutes, but they set out how companies are permitted to market them. The code recognises that there is a "legitimate market for infant formula," but that, "...in view of the vulnerability of infants in the early months of life and the risks involved in inappropriate feeding practices, including the unnecessary and improper use of breastmilk substitutes, the marketing of breastmilk substitutes requires special treatment, which makes usual marketing practices unsuitable for these products." Each year World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated in over 120 countries and this year the theme is Code Watch: 25 years of Protecting Breastfeeding. Our group will be holding a discussion meeting on Thursday 10th August along with Southern Cross group. Come along and learn about the International Code of Marketing Breastmilk Substitutes, what happens when companies don't abide by it, why it matters and what we can all do to promote the code. Information can also be found on their website www.ibfan.org.

2006 National Raffle results

The ABA 'Heart to Heart' National Raffle finished on 14 May 2006. The raffle was a great success with our group selling a total of 300 tickets!! Which made a profit of $60 for our group. The raffle was a great way to raise the profile of the ABA in our community as well as making some money. Most of the tickets were sold to the community at the Charnwood Carnival in March. The raffle was drawn on 9 June 2006.
The results were:

• 1st 63837 C. Hannah, Vic;
• 2nd 68009 N. Felstead, QLD;
• 3rd 28901 W. Cranham, QLD;
• 4th 57665 C. Hay, VIC;
• 5th 44398 L. Mills, QLD;
• 6th 02970 M. Turner,SA.
  
  Thank you to all those that purchased or helped sell tickets!!
  
  Debbie

The magic of a gift membership...

I gave a gift membership of the ABA to an old friend (since high school) as her baby shower present. She lives in another city. I rang her early this year about three weeks after the birth of her daughter, which was uncomplicated. We had a good chat, and she mentioned that she said she had a bit of mastitis that had been treated, but she had a persistent lump still. She was slightly sore, and having trouble feeding as much on the sore side. I was a little bit worried about this, and the fact that she still had a lump. Two weeks later she emailed me and said that after my phone call, she became really sick and developed an abscess, and that she was hospitalised for a week, then needed complete bed rest for a further week. She had to have two operations on the affected breast, and was in severe pain with a very high
temperature for several days. The wonderful thing was that she continued to breastfeed through this horrible experience. She told me that the first doctor she saw in hospital told her that in order to recover, she would have to stop breastfeeding and would need medication to dry up the milk. She declined to accept this offer. She just asked him to admit her, and said then she would get more advice. She said she then had exceptional support to continue breastfeeding from the hospital midwives and the ABA lactation consultant, and the clinic child health nurse. She was very proud that she kept breastfeeding. Her little girl did not put on much weight while her mum was recovering, but made up for it soon afterwards. She said the ABA gift membership was really valuable, and its advice on getting support to persevere with breastfeeding really helped. I was so happy for her, and glad that I did something useful with that present. I had also visited her when Claudia was about six months old, and she saw what a lovely breastfeeding relationship we had, so I hope that was also encouraging. I was especially pleased because another new mother I know less well (the wife of a friend) was not able to continue breastfeeding after she was hospitalised for one night with mastitis, which was a bit sad I thought.

Diana

Must-have munchies and quick-cook meals

Banana Cake Traditional Potato Salad Chocolate (Mud) Muffins (Mmmmm!) Fudgy Wudgy Chocolate Cookies Cherub's couscous Margaret's Beef Casserole Easy Scones Jo-Anne’s no fuss Oven baked Risotto Fruit Smoothies Margaret's Magic Meal in Minutes The Fastest Dinner Ever: Serve a hot two course meal in 15 minutes! 1st course: Hawain ham steaks with rice and steamed veggies 2nd course: Apricot sponge and ice cream

Mum's Milk 4 Me T-shirts

Our signature "Mum's Milk for Me" T-shirts are ideal for bubs who are proud their mum makes the best milk, for toddlers who want to advertise their past or present love of breastfeeding, and for Teddies who don't want to be left out. T-shirts cost $15. NEW: order through Mothers Direct.

Group Bulletin by Email?

By providing us with your email address, you can help us cut down on the number of bulletins we have to photocopy and distribute, and thereby on costs. Please contact Tamerah for email bulletin distribution.

A little on ABA's Code of Ethics

The Australian Breastfeeding Association has a Code of Ethics that helps to ensure that there is consistency in our groups throughout Australia. It includes things like:

• Australian Breastfeeding Association meetings and membership lists are confidential and are not to be used to promote sales of goods and services;
• Discouraging the discussion of particular doctors, hospitals, maternal and child health nurses or health centres at meetings or in conversations;
• Remembering that breastfeeding is only one aspect of skilled and loving mothering.

You can view a full copy of the Code of Ethics on the association's website.