Love Feeding

What's your name and role at MAMA?

Hi, my name is Sarah. I am MAMA’s Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and I offer Birth Debrief sessions.

What inspired you to work at MAMA?

I have a Bachelor in Psychology and I am a trained Midwife, and I worked as midwife in Amsterdam, before my husband and I emigrated to Australia in 2015. Here I did my additional training to become a Lactation Consultant and Birth Debrief counsellor.

What are you passionate about at MAMA?

I walked into MAMA 9 years ago to inquire about the Australian Midwifery system and to get to know other midwives and like minded people, and they have welcomed me in their family with open arms. I have never left since and feel so privileged to be part of this wonderful community.

What are your favourite things about your role?

What I love most about my role is to support new families in the rollercoaster of (preparing for) postpartum. To give them knowledge, skills, hope and support, to achieve their goals and even more important to feel heard, seen and supported in this intense time. My approach is holistic and personalized, and my nature is gentle and non-judgmental.

Where would we find you outside of MAMA?

When I’m not here, I am with my beautiful family; my husband and 3 boys (Hugo, Jonas and Sep), and other things I love doing are catching up with my friends, going into nature, reading books and playing soccer.

What's your name and role at MAMA?

Hi, my name is Megan, and I am one of MAMA’s Lactation Consultants (IBCLC’s).

What inspired you to work at MAMA?

To be given an opportunity to work with families surrounded by the team at MAMA, alongside incredibly caring, professional, and respectful healthcare providers is a dream job that I am so very grateful for.

What are you passionate about at MAMA?

MAMA offers so many supportive services, it is a one stop shop in the childbearing space from pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and the postnatal period as families make the transition of becoming parents either for the first time or happily again. Everyone is welcomed with open arms; care is personalised, evidence-based, inclusive and extremely supportive.

What are your favourite things about your role?

I really enjoy observing a parent’s self belief, confidence and love for their baby grow as they navigate and work through any breastfeeding challenges or concerns that may arise. I have been told I am a compassionate, caring and respectful practitioner, and being able to support a family as they achieve their personal feeding goals is so special to witness.

Where would we find you outside of MAMA?

I love spending time with my husband Marty and adult kids (Harry, Zoe and Charlie), as well as family and friends at our beach shack on the Mornington Peninsula. My favourite things to do are walking in nature; reading a feel good book; bingeing a great tv series; and as often as I can - dancing (like no-one is watching!).

What is your name and role at MAMA?

My name is Rhiannon and I work as a lactation consultant (IBCLC) here at MAMA.

What inspired you to work at MAMA?

I actually started working at MAMA as a second midwife supporting the primary midwives while also working towards getting my IBCLC qualification. I now work as a lactation consultant here as that is what I feel called to do at this time. When I became a mother myself, I received incredible care as a client of MAMA and it was an obvious choice to continue working with such an amazing team.

What are you passionate about at MAMA?

I absolutely love how well-rounded the services are here at MAMA are for women and their families. There is a strong sense of community and focus on providing holistic, individualised care.

What are your favourite things at MAMA?

I especially love facilitating some of the free feeding drop-in sessions that run twice weekly, they are such a great opportunity for women to seek some general advice and support from an IBCLC and meet other mothers. Hearing about MAMA offering this free service was one of the things that originally drew me to work here.

Where would we find you outside of MAMA?

You would usually find me spending time with my Husband and son. We are animal people so we love appreciating the beautiful wildlife around us. If I have moments to myself, you might find me crocheting, reading, playing video games or weightlifting. 

What is your name and role at MAMA? 

My name is Madison I prefer Madi. I’m a Registered Nurse and IBCLC. I’ve recently moved back to town after a couple of years living in Darwin and am available for consults both at the clinic in Kensington and for home visits. 

What inspired you to work at MAMA? 

After spending many years nursing in NICU and Special Care Nurseries I developed a special interest in all things breastfeeding. When caring for babies who were pre-term or complex I often saw nursing mums who needed a bit of extra support and counselling in order to get them and their baby off to the best start. While the hospital system and busy nurses cared for the babies I felt like the mothers were often forgotten and deserved more so I was drawn to help and empower. Once I began studying to become IBCLC accredited I sought a mentor and was lucky enough to meet Sarah who introduced me to MAMA. This was the best introduction and provided me with an invaluable foundation for my own practice. After establishing my own business and seeing lots of mums on my own in Darwin, I am so thankful to be back working at MAMA and keen to further develop my skills. 

What are you passionate about at MAMA? 

My biggest passion (especially after birthing my daughter) is in women centred care. There is so much in the traditional hospital and birthing system that is missing, misunderstood or stacked against the mother and I feel so lucky to be able to contribute to the evidence-based, women centred practice at MAMA. For me this means taking the time to properly listen to and understand my clients and working together towards solutions that empower the mother and baby to work together in harmony. 

What are your favourite things about your role?  

It is a privilege to be able to support mothers and their babies to develop a successful feeding practice - whatever this looks like! Successful feeding is one of the key foundations of a happy, healthy mother baby dyad and I think it is often looked at as something that is a given or ‘comes naturally’ which is rarely the case, especially for first time mums. While my first instinct is always to aim for feeding at the breast, I have worked with many mothers for whom this was not a reality or was more of a goal to work towards, and I am experienced at supporting these families to find a solution that works for them. I am especially interested in oral function and enjoy problem solving alongside mothers in order to empower them to make their own decisions. 

Where would we find you outside of MAMA?  

As a recent returnee to Melbourne and with the addition of my daughter Delia I have been busy getting settled and figuring out our new activities and routines. I am lucky to be living close enough to walk to the Preston markets and am generally finding walking around the suburbs a joy after a long wet season in Darwin earlier this year!