First day of the Hot Milk conference and I have had such a great day! I am also utterly exhausted. After getting off at the wrong stop I had a lovely walk along the river until I found the Convention Centre, by which time I was late for the welcome.
Luckily, though, I still made it in time for Mary Paton's address. For those who don't know, Mary Paton was the founder of the Association back in 1964. Her address was really entertaining, warm and funny. She showed original copies of Association documents, such as the first financial statements for the Association from 1970 and the first ever catalogue. At the end she received a standing ovation, which was a teary moment for many of us. Straight after Mary's address Dr Ted Greiner presented on HIV and breastfeeding. He talked about comparing the risk of HIV transmission through breastmilk and the risk of death from not breastfeeding, and examining at what age the risk to the baby of HIV transmission becomes greater than the risk of death or severe sickness due to diarrhoea from mixing infant formula with tainted water. I was also surprised to find that even in industrialised countries like Australia with reliable clean water, the risk of HIV transmission through breastmilk is roughly equivalent to the risk of babies getting ill from formula tainted with the E. sakazakii bacteria.
After a break for morning tea, it was off to see Pinky McKay talk about Milk, Sleep and Love. Pinky's talk had the audience giggling, but one of the toddlers stole the show when she approached Pinky for an autograph, only to turn to the audience and start taking notes! It was a relaxed talk about how milk, sleep and love are inextricably linked, and the importance of hormones on the whole mix. After Pinky's talk it was over to hear Paula Meier talk about the Rush University in Ohio, and their program to translate the evidence that exclusive breastfeeding of premature of babies is absolutely crucial into best practice. Their program was so inspiring; including 24-hour visitation for parents with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a free taxi to bring mothers to and from the hospital, including the mothers in the science of human milk and keeping accurate expressing records. Most importantly I think, they are teaching parents that breastfeeding is medication for premature babies, not just a nice thing to do.
Next up after lunch I listened to some of our ABA counsellors talk about low supply, weaning off the breastpump and increasing motivation to breastfeed. Dale Nigro and Louise Duursma gave a very useful talk about how we should use the term “inadequate intake” instead of “low supply”. They talked about how true low supply is less common than underlying infant illness, malabsorption of breastmilk, perception of insufficient milk (despite actual adequate supply) and not enough stimulation in inadequate intake. Ruth Berkowitz talked about weaning off a breastpump, and how and what amounts to use to decrease complements. Finally, Dr Megan Elliott-Rudder talked about the words we use to motivate women to breastfeed, her experiences working as a GP/Obstetrician in regional Australia and pros and cons of the Motivation Interview technique.
Finally, my last session of the day was one I was really looking forward to – Dr Karleen Gribble's presentation on infant feeding in emergencies. An unexpected bonus was a short explanation of the Breastfeeding Friendly Accreditation for workplaces - I wish this had been around when I was working in state government years ago! There was an air of anticipation when Karleen took the microphone; I think others had been as eager as I to hear her talk. It was a very moving, motivating and emotional talk for me. It's hard to see babies and children in distress and appalling conditions, but essential to see what needs to be done. I had no idea that infant formula donations could have such a devastating effect after emergencies. What I really liked about Karleen's talk was the way she gave us an opportunity to get involved in what she and others are doing.
Anyhow, well done if you made it to the end of this. Once I get a new card reader for my camera I shall post more photos!
