New mums get valuable advice

About 50 mums gathered for the morning tea event.

Getting support and advice is important when you’re a new mum.

This includes help with breastfeeding, bottle feeding, settling your newborn, nutrition, managing going back to work and self-care.

These topics were explored as Epworth Geelong hosted a mother’s group morning tea focusing on World Breastfeeding Week.

Some 50 mothers gathered for the event, held in August, which featured guest speakers who offered plenty of valuable advice.

Many of the mums had recently given birth at the Epworth.

“It was pretty exciting to see the mums and babies come back in,” Associate Director of Clinical Services at Epworth Geelong Lisa Garner said.

“There were so many prams in the room – it was great.”

The speakers included Johanna Clark, an experienced naturopath and nutritionist who spoke about how mums could best look after themselves in those first few challenging weeks of a baby’s life.

Gillian Thornton from the Australian Breastfeeding Association offered advice on breastfeeding, including how to get support.

A lactation consultant and a maternal child health nurse from the City of Greater Geelong were also on hand for advice.

Mrs Garner said the Epworth was looking to make the mum’s morning tea a regular event.

“The women, as they were leaving, said how valuable it was and how great it was to gather with women in the same situation,” she said.