Breastfeeding Centre of WA

Appointments at the Breastfeeding Centre are available to mothers and babies who attended King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH) for their pregnancy and birth.

The centre offers a state-wide telephone counselling service for health professionals and women experiencing breastfeeding problems. It may be necessary to leave your name and number on an answering machine and a lactation consultant will return your call.

Phone 08 64581844 0800 am to 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday (Public Holiday’s excluded)

Attending the centre enables a mother and her baby / babies to spend up one and a half hours with the help of a lactation consultant overcoming breastfeeding difficulties. A support person is very welcome to attend the appointment.

Referrals

Mothers who birthed at KEMH are encouraged to self-refer. Other referral sources include: 

• Midwife (FBC/ MGP/ CMP)
• Visiting Midwifery Service
• Community Nurse / Midwife
• Obstetrician
• General Practitioner (GP).

What to bring to the centre

• Baby health record book
• Expressing equipment you may be using
• Nappies and change of clothes for baby
• Wear comfortable clothes for breastfeeding.

KEMH is a Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI) Accredited Hospital where a mothers informed choice of feeding is encouraged, respected and supported. BFHI accredited hospitals follow the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding

Step 1
1a) Comply fully with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and relevant World Health Assembly Resolutions.
1b) Have a written infant feeding policy that is routinely communicated to staff and parents.
1c) Establish ongoing monitoring and data-management systems.

Step 2
Ensure that staff have sufficient knowledge, competence and skills to support breastfeeding.

Step 3
Discuss the importance and management of breastfeeding with pregnant women and their families.

Step 4
Facilitate immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact and support mothers to initiate breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth.

Step 5
Support mothers to initiate and maintain breastfeeding and manage common difficulties.

Step 6
Do not provide breastfed newborns any food or fluids other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.

Step 7
Enable mothers and their infants to remain together and to practice rooming-in 24 hours a day.

Step 8
Support mothers to recognise and respond to their infants’ cues for feeding.

Step 9
Counsel mothers on the use and risk of feeding bottles, teats and pacifiers.

Step 10
Coordinate discharge so that parents and their infants have timely access to ongoing support and care.