During World Breastfeeding Week 2021, we chat to Lauren Cross, one of our Registered Midwives in the RCH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), to talk about her role and supporting feeding journeys in the hospital.

Can you explain your role and a bit about the team you work in?

In our day to day job, we care for new mothers in their early postnatal period. As most mothers miss out on having their ‘home visit’ with a midwife, we are here to complete that check in the hospital. We also assist with expressing, supply and breastfeeding in the NICU. Otherwise, we are responsible for many things such as education, the EBM (expressed breast milk), the donor breastmilk from Mercy Health’s Breast Milk Bank, and much more!

Have you always been interested in midwifery? How did you get into this career?

I have always wanted to work in the NICU at the RCH. It has been my dream ever since I was a little girl to care for babies. I thought during my Year 12 studies that I would be a better NICU nurse if I was also a midwife, as I assumed if you had a good understanding of what happens on the inside, you would be able to better care for the newborn when it was born. Once I was appointed a position of a Registered Nurse in the NICU, I realised there was also a team of midwives that worked so beautifully alongside our wonderful team. When a position came up, I had to go for it!

Being both a nurse and a midwife in the NICU allows me to have the best of both worlds. One day I will be caring for sick babies and the next I’ll be helping that same mother recover from her birth and get herself set up with expressing. I love being a midwife because it allows me to have a really deep connection with mothers, who often neglect themselves when they have a sick baby. I get great joy out of being able to be there to support them in the early days, and to also finish the cycle of care by assisting them with breastfeeding when the time comes before heading home!

How does the RCH support breastfeeding while families are staying here?

We have teams throughout the hospital who can help assist with breastfeeding. These include midwives, lactation consultants, and maternal and child health nurses. Nursing staff also help new mothers at the bedside 24/7. We have access expressing kits and breast pumps available to use at the bedside and mothers can access free lunch and dinner supplied by the kitchen to ensure they are receiving optimal nutrition.

Are there particular challenges with breastfeeding in the NICU?

There are lots of challenges around breastfeeding in our NICU. This is mostly due to the babies being unable to have feeds orally, or at all.

How do we overcome these challenges?

We overcome these challenges by providing lots of support for new mothers around expressing and sustaining the milk supply whilst their baby is unable to feed. We promote skin to skin time with baby where able, and we can also provide support around learning how to breastfeeding with empty breast contact (where your baby does not get any milk, however they can practise suckling at the breast).

The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2021 theme is Protect breastfeeding: a shared responsibility – what does this look like at the RCH?

To protect breastfeeding, this means that both the health and welfare of babies and their mothers is protected. At the RCH, we aim to protect breastfeeding at the individual level by supporting new mothers based on their current circumstances and we also encourage a family-centred care approach by encouraging partners to be involved as much as possible.

What is your advice for mums who are stressed about not being able to breastfeed?

Complete as much education as you can before you have your baby. Knowledge is power. Be confident, but seek as much support from midwives, maternal child health nurses or lactation consultants in the community, especially in the early days. Also, just be kind to yourself and don’t put too much pressure on yourself around breastfeeding. You never know what experience you are going to have!

Do you have any notable highlights so far?

I think most days definitely have a highlight! When you spend time with a mother teaching her how to express, and come back the next day to see the absolute joy on her face when her milk has increased every express, that’s really rewarding. I also love when we have incredibly sick premature babies come to us, and they go home breastfeeding, that is a massive highlight in their journey and I am so privileged to be able to share in that experience with the families.