Orange midwives and community educators to help new mums with breastfeeding

The Australian Breastfeeding Association Group in Orange's leader Heather Jones said she has seen an increase in mothers who are connecting with the service to better understand how to breastfeed their child.

"With the social distancing restrictions, there are a lot of mothers who are cautious about leaving their homes and to visit drop in clinics," she said.

"We have received an influx of calls and utilising the live chat service where they can talk to volunteers to get practical mother-to-mother support and information."

Before the restrictions, Mrs Jones said the service hosted fortnightly face-to-face meetings where mothers brought along their children to learn more about breastfeeding.

"We had between eight to 12 mums come along to the gathering where they were able to sit down and discuss issues about breastfeeding," she said.

"We are now offering an interactive webinar facilitated by a qualified community educator for expecting mothers and new mothers to discuss a variety of topics including how your breasts make milk, practice positioning to feed your baby, first aid and support and adjusting to life as a parent."

Mothers, Infants and Lactation Consultancy is a private midwifery service to assist mothers in Orange and the Central West with lactation consultancy, child development and sleep and settling, and antenatal and postnatal support.

MILC co-director Cassie Harvey said even though mothers are opting for telehealth and zoom meetings, they are still providing home visits.

"For the first six weeks, we want to ease the mother and newborn if there is any breastfeeding issues and assess how the baby is growing," she said.

"We look after 15 to 20 postnatal private patients but we are open to anyone who is seeking help.

"We are very fortunate to be able to work with other midwives and doctors in Orange to help mothers receive the health care they deserve."

Mrs Harvey said there has been an increase in online orders as they also supply mother and baby products.

"We have received a lot orders for breast pumps and maternity bras," she said.