1800 mum 2 mum delivers breastfeeding advice, mum to mum
Australia's first 24-hour
toll-free helpline for breastfeeding mothers will be officially launched
with federal Health Minister Nicola
Roxon, Friday March 20, 11am in Melbourne.
1800 mum 2 mum (1800
686 2 686) is run by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) and
utilises the real-life experience of over 200 trained volunteer counsellors
each week who help other mums with issues including the early days with a
new baby, expressing and storing milk, weaning, supply and what to do when
baby simply says no.
"This is such an important
resource for breastfeeding mothers," says Australian Breastfeeding
Association president Querida David.
"Mothers everywhere can
call one toll-free number for mum-to-mum support and information from
trained breastfeeding counsellors. That's good news for mothers, babies,
dads and families. Getting the right help at the right time is important for
breastfed babies and their mums. The Australian Breastfeeding Association's
free breastfeeding helpline 1800
mum 2 mum delivers that
help whenever mothers need it."
The 1800
mum 2 mum number
replaces 13 different
numbers that operated in
different states, with different levels of service. It is proving a
word-of-mouth hit even before its official launch, averaging 1214 calls per
week in February, which were answered by an average of 214 volunteer
counsellors each week.
Each volunteer counsellor
has completed 400 hours of training and has a Certificate IV in
Breastfeeding Education or equivalent. The service is available to everyone,
from mothers and fathers to nurses and other health care professionals,
whether ABA members or not.
The major upgrade of the
ABA Breastfeeding Helpline is possible through funding from the Federal
Government under the Support Breastfeeding Mums initiative.
