Full funding for ABA Breastfeeding Helpline

ABA has received funding from the Australian Government for the past 14 years to support our 24/7 National Breastfeeding Helpline, LiveChat, the training and ongoing education of all our volunteer breastfeeding counsellors and educators, and health professional education. This funding runs out on 30 June 2023, and we are yet to receive confirmation from the Department of Health that it will be renewed.

In Australia 96% of new mums want to breastfeed their baby because they know that breastfeeding is recognised as highly valuable to lifelong health and preventative health benefits for mothers and children, along with the importance ...

ABA has received funding from the Australian Government for the past 14 years to support our 24/7 National Breastfeeding Helpline, LiveChat, the training and ongoing education of all our volunteer breastfeeding counsellors and educators, and health professional education. This funding runs out on 30 June 2023, and we are yet to receive confirmation from the Department of Health that it will be renewed.

In Australia 96% of new mums want to breastfeed their baby because they know that breastfeeding is recognised as highly valuable to lifelong health and preventative health benefits for mothers and children, along with the importance to the economy and environment.

The ongoing funding is critically needed to ensure the sustainability of the National Breastfeeding Helpline and LiveChat Services – accessed by 73,000 parents last year alone. ABA’s broader services support hundreds of thousands of parents every year. ABA connects with and educates thousands of health professionals every year. With a globally accessed website and free app, funding the Australian Breastfeeding Association to deliver this service makes sound business sense.

We need you to let your Federal MP know how important these services are to you.

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Let your Federal MP know the ABA Breastfeeding Helpline is important to you

Your email will inform your Federal MP that the ABA National Breastfeeding Helpline and other ABA services are important to you and why. If you have time you can add a paragraph sharing your personal experience of ABA's services in the letter below.

Find your local rep

Subject:

As a member of your electorate, I am writing to you about the critical Australian Government-funded services - which directly supported one in four of all birthing families in Australia last year. These are the National Breastfeeding Helpline and LiveChat Services – delivered by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA).

The Australian Government funding for these services ceases on 30 June 2023. The Department of Health has not yet confirmed the ongoing nor the necessary full funding for the delivery of these services.

Last year, the National Breastfeeding Helpline and LiveChat services supported 73,000+ families - with 24/7 support and evidence-based information. They significantly reduced the burden on primary health care providers and the health system. In 2022, 42% of callers said they would have visited a hospital or other medical services without the National Breastfeeding Helpline.

Please support these services and the families they serve by writing to The Hon Ged Kearney MP - Assistant Minister of Health & Aged Care, urging the Australian Government to approve ABA's proposal for the National Breastfeeding Helpline and LiveChat Services to be fully funded in the upcoming budget.

This is an investment of $11.6 million over four years, which will support more than 290,000 families from right across Australia.

In a health ecosystem facing extraordinary resourcing challenges, ABA's qualified peer-support service model represents an astute, high-quality investment that other health service providers cannot replicate.

The Australian Government has funded ABA to deliver the National Breastfeeding Helpline since 2008. The funding offered in 2019 ($8.2m) falls significantly short of today's costs of service delivery impacted by high inflation and the additional resources necessary to attract and retain qualified volunteers in a post-COVID-19 environment.

96% of new mums in Australia want to breastfeed their babies. As detailed in the Australian Government's 2019 National Breastfeeding Strategy, breastfeeding is recognised as highly valuable from economic and social perspectives, in addition to the lifelong health and preventative health benefits for mothers and children.

In the forthcoming budget discussions, please remember the Australian Breastfeeding Association's critical role for Australia's expectant and new families and their infants.

Thousands of present and future mums will thank you for supporting them through the most challenging (and beautiful) of life moments – early parenthood.

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