June marks a changing of the guard
After many years at the helm, Kristy Armstrong and Verity Williams are passing on the role of Group Leader of the Australian Breastfeeding Association’s (ABA) Orange Group to Heather Jones.
All the mums who have been involved in this group over the years would like to say a huge thank you to Kristy and Verity for their many hours of volunteering in recent years.
Heather, who has been part of the group is now stepping up to fill the big shoes left by Kristy and Verity. “I’m very excited and am looking forward to continuing the group’s efforts to support families in the Orange Region with breastfeeding and early parenthood,” said Heather.
“Australian Breastfeeding Association’s main role is to connect with mothers and provide mother-to-mother support. Each ABA volunteer has been through parenthood and can provide others with empathy, understanding and a space to feel heard. Our group is very welcoming and non-judgemental. We welcome all mothers whether breastfeeding or not who would like to engage with other parents and learn more about parenting.”
The Orange Group provides a lot of valuable support services for local mothers such as:
• Fortnightly morning teas with various topics for mothers to learn about breastfeeding and parenting (such as popular topics, sleep, returning to work and family foods), connect with one another and have a space where they can have face-to-face access to a trained volunteer breastfeeding counsellor.
• Breastfeeding Education Classes for expectant parents to learn about breastfeeding, its biology, and what to expect when breastfeeding a newborn baby.
• Evening catchups for mothers who work during the day or prefer to leave toddlers at home in bed and engage with other mothers later in the day.
• Breast pump hire — the ABA have a trained volunteer breastfeeding counsellor who hires out pumps to both ABA members and non-members (half price for members).
• Offer support and information by pairing with the local Child and Family Health Nurses to attend the New Parents Group and with Midwives at the Orange Heath Service to attend Antenatal Classes to maximise the number of families who can access our services.
“We want to make sure that our local Mums can access support when they need it,” Heather added, “For any Mums out there who are interested in coming to see what we are all about, come anytime, we understand that kids don’t run to schedule!”
The Orange group catch up from 10am- 12pm every second Friday at the Girl Guides Hall, 365 Peisley Street. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates on evening catchups (venues and topics) ‘Australian Breastfeeding Association Orange & Dubbo Group’.