Madison Sloan
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 centre 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!