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Australia’s first 24-hour toll-free helpline for breastfeeding mothers was officially launched by federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon, on Friday March 20, 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 – and 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.
Australian Breastfeeding Association is a voluntary organisation established in 1964 to encourage and support mothers who wish to breastfeed their babies. There are 300 ABA groups nationwide with over 17,000 members. For more information visit www.breastfeeding.asn.au