Hi Lisa

Best of luck with your presentation. After reading about the planning for the new hospital you mentioned I wrote a letter to the ACT Minister for Health and thought you & others may like to read it (below):


Katy Gallagher MLA                                                                                                                            
ACT Minister for Health

06 October 2009

Dear Katy

RE:  BFHI Accreditation & Donor Human Milk Bank for the new Women & Children Hospital

In the spirit of the statement (below) on your website, you have before you an opportunity to greatly enhance the outcomes for short and long-term population health by setting an example in maternal/infant world best practice. 

“This plan is more than just new buildings – it’s about ensuring that people can access the right care in the right place, that we adopt a multidisciplinary approach to care, that workforces are redesigned, and that we utilise new and emerging technologies to assist us to deliver a more efficient, productive and cost effective health system.”

I have recently sent letters to all NSW senators and Federal/State MPs asking them to include some of the Recommendations (from the Report on the Inquiry into the Health Benefits of Breastfeeding - Aug 2007) into the National Breastfeeding Strategy at the Health Minister’s Conference this November. 

Although the 22 Recommendations of the Report are all important, the following are particularly relevant for consideration in the planning of the new hospital:

Recommendation 8:	
That the Department of Health & Ageing fund a feasibility study for a network of milk banks in Australia including the development of a national regulatory and quality framework within which a network of milk banks in Australia could operate. The feasibility study should include funding pilot programs at the Mothers Milk Bank (John Flynn Private Hospital, Gold Coast) and the King Edward Memorial Hospital milk bank in Perth.

Excerpts from the Report on the Inquiry (page 51):
3.49  It is clear to the committee that a national network of publicly funded milk banks would give Australian babies a healthier start to life, reduce health care costs and provide real support for mothers who are unable to provide their baby with breastmilk.

3.49  Professor Peter Hartmann of the King Edward Memorial Hospital milk bank estimated that if a premature baby in their unit is given breastmilk instead of formula, the recovery period is shortened by two weeks with cost savings of $18,200. In Queensland, there were 4,300 premature babies in one year who did not receive any breastmilk and were therefore at greater risk for complications, infections and longer hospital stays.

Recommendation 14:
That the Department of Health and Ageing fund the Australian College of Midwives to run the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative in Australia to facilitate the accreditation of all maternity hospitals.

BFHI accreditation is fundamental to improving breastfeeding duration rates. Through no fault of their own, many of those providing assistance to new mothers in hospital and at home are not appropriately trained in clinical best-practice for assisting in the establishment and maintenance of breastfeeding. Currently there are 70 accredited hospitals in Australia. This represents only around 30 percent of all births. We can do better than that when so much is at stake.

I urge you to attain a copy of the Report mentioned – it represents a blueprint for primary preventative health. Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely
Julieanne Hensby
Lactation Consultant, IBCLC
ABA Lifetime Associate

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