Adults

Breastfeeding

Why breastfeed?

Breastfeeding is important for mother and baby health. Any amount of breast milk offered to your baby is good.

In Australia, it is recommended that infants are exclusively* breastfed until around six months of age when solid foods are introduced, and that breastfeeding is continued until 12 months of age and beyond, for as long as the mother and child desire.¹

*Infant receives only breast milk. No other liquids or solids are given, not even water, with the exception of oral rehydration solution, or drops/syrups of vitamins, minerals or medicines.

Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses. Breastmilk provides all the energy and nutrients that infants need for around the first six months of life. From six to 12 months breastmilk continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs and up to one third of a child’s nutritional needs between 12 months and two years.

Breastfed children are less likely to be overweight or obese and less prone to diabetes later in life. Women who breastfeed also have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

Need help with breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding is a learned skill, which needs practice. The more you feed your baby, the easier it will get. More information and support is available from the following:

Breastfeeding Education Live – online sessions

Interactive breastfeeding education webinar sessions for expectant parents. Learn and practice how breastfeeding works. Click here for more information

CCLHD breastfeeding support clinics

These breastfeeding support sessions for Central Coast residents are run by child and family health nurses to support, protect and promote breastfeeding. Click here for community health centre locations and times.

Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA)

Call the Breastfeeding Helpline on 1800 686 268. This helpline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and staffed by trained, volunteer counsellors.

The ABA website provides a range of resources to support, educate and advocate for a breastfeeding inclusive society. You can hire a breast pump through ABA.

The mum2mum app provides breastfeeding information and support based on your baby or child’s age.

Raising Children Network

An Australian parenting website that provides articles, videos and interactive resources tailored to different ages and stages. Breastfeeding information can be found in the ‘newborn’ and ‘babies’ tabs.

MotherSafe

For women and healthcare providers concerned about exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding. more information, click here or call 1800 647 848.

Other support for breastfeeding

Five ways family and friends can support a mother to breastfeed

Offer encouragement.
Help with the baby between feeds, and older children in the family, to allow the mother to rest or nap.
Make nutritious meals and snacks to help increase her energy.
Help with cleaning and other jobs around the house to decrease these responsibilities.
Find breastfeeding friendly meeting places.

SMS4dads Receive free text messages sent straight to your phone – with tips, information and links to other services to help fathers understand and connect with their baby and support their partner.

Grandparents play an important part in the encouragement and support of breastfeeding. More information for grandparents can be found here.

There are no benefits to starting solid foods before around six months. Starting too early can contribute to a decrease in breast milk production. Starting Family Foods provides current advice on introducing your baby to solid foods.

Support for breastfeeding in public

Look for the ‘We Are Breastfeeding Friendly’ sticker in Central Coast businesses and facilities that are supportive of mothers’ breastfeeding on their premises. There are more than 300 on the Central Coast helping to promote a positive attitude towards breastfeeding in the community.

If you have a business or know of a business that is breastfeeding friendly and would like to participate, contact Nutrition Services, Central Coast Local Health District for free breastfeeding friendly stickers and kit. Call 4320 2251.

Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week 2020

In 2020, the Central Coast Local Health District Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding Reference Group offered a community art competition. There were some wonderful entries!

The following virtual gallery is a presentation of the selected entries along with comments from the artists and judges.

References

¹National health and Medical Research Council 2012, Infant Feeding Guidelines, Canberra. National Health and Medical Research Council.

Quick Meals for Kooris

By Health Promotion

Quick Meals for Kooris is a ‘hands-on’ cooking program, developed to assist Aboriginal people prepare easy, low-cost family meals using available ingredients. Allowing time to cook, eat and share ideas and knowledge is an important part of this program.

Check out this short video to find out more about the Quick Meals for Kooris program and how it can be adopted in your organisation.

“I’ve used the training to show other people how to cook inexpensive meals.”

Lynne Clarke, volunteer, San Remo Neighbourhood Centre.

“What I love about the Quick Meals for Kooris is the recipes are simple and easy to make in your home, the ingredients are available in all shops and honestly some of the standard ingredients are in your cupboard today, right now.”

Kerry Groves, volunteer, San Remo Neighbourhood Centre

Quick Meals for Kooris is designed to be run by Aboriginal health workers or Aboriginal community members. This versatile program can be adapted to suit participant needs, resources and capacity of leaders. Program ‘leaders’ will not need extensive nutrition knowledge or food preparation skills as the Quick Meals for Kooris – Trainers Manual provides detailed guidance. Recipes included in the program are in the Quick Meals for Kooris – At Home book. It is intended that all group participants are given a copy of this book. This book is also a stand-alone resource and can be provided to people who do not attend a program.

NEW Quick Meals for Kooris recipe videos

You can watch how to prepare four of the quick, easy and low-cost recipes from the Quick Meals for Kooris at Home book.

Watch the videos below and download the recipes and methods.

Hawaiian Chicken Pasta | Quick Meals for Kooris

Vegetable Slice | Quick Meals for Kooris

Fruit Crumble | Quick Meals for Kooris

Family Mince | Quick Meals for Kooris

Thank you to Mitch Ella, Steve Ella, Tyra McEwen and Jenni McEwen for featuring in the videos.

Tell us what you think of these videos here!

Download the video recipes below:

Family Mince

Chicken Pasta

Vegetable Slice

Fruit Crumble

For more information, hard copy resources or support with nutrition training contact Lesley Marshall on (02) 4320 3691 or email [email protected].

E-cigarettes

By Health Promotion

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are devices that produce a vapour which is breathed in. The process is similar to smoking, except you don’t have to burn the tobacco.

E-cigarettes are often promoted as a healthier option, but this may not be the case. Many e-cigarettes still contain nicotine as well as other potentially harmful chemicals such as ammonia that are breathed into your lungs and very quickly absorbed into your body. Smokers inhale so much and so frequently that we just don’t know what the impacts of these chemicals will be. However, we do know e-cigarettes containing nicotine are addictive, just like tobacco.

Smoking e-cigarettes is not recommended as a means to quit tobacco smoking. If you are trying to quit smoking, Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is a better choice. NRT is designed to gradually release nicotine into your body to help relieve symptoms you may get when you are trying to quit. However, NRT avoids the surge of nicotine that enhances addiction. It’s that surge of nicotine from a cigarette or an e-cigarette that provides the reward and keeps you addicted. NRT avoids this, while buffering withdrawal symptoms.

Quitting smoking can improve your quality of life by having a positive impact on your physical health. What’s more, research shows that, after the nicotine withdrawal has been overcome, there are substantial long-lasting improvements to your mental health with reduced levels of anxiety and depression. Swapping to e-cigarettes won’t give you the same result.

If you would like help to quit, or you would like to refer someone to get help, call the Quitline on 13 7848, or talk to your health professional.

E-cigarettes – the top 5 issues

1. Availability and take-up is increasing

In countries like the USA where e-cigarettes are very easy to buy, young people have been taking them up at an alarming rate. In 2014, e-cigarette use tripled among high school students compared to the previous year. Even more alarmingly, there was no downward trend in tobacco use.

2. They are a gateway to smoking tobacco and other drugs

Studies around the world (such as these from the USA, Canada and Germany) have found high school students who have never smoked, but start using e-cigarettes, are much more likely to end up smoking tobacco.

3. No one can be sure they’re safe

E-cigarettes have the potential to be addictive, which means people are at risk of exposure to large amounts of nicotine and other potentially harmful chemicals. Some of these chemicals are not in tobacco smoke, so it is unknown what long-term health consequences they will have. However, evidence is growing, and some studies have linked them to issues such as blood pressure, heart rate and arterial stiffness. Both the Australian Government and World Health Organization have recently issued warnings on the health implications of inhaling harmful toxics in e-cigarettes.

4. They don’t help people quit

When e-cigarettes were first available, it was thought they could be used to help smokers cut down and eventually quit smoking tobacco. Since then, more evidence has come to light. E-cigarettes aren’t any more effective at helping people quit. Worse, they often result in smokers using both e-cigarettes and tobacco.

5. They are not regulated in many countries

Even though restrictions on tobacco advertising and product placement have been in place for many years, e-cigarettes are not as tightly governed… yet. Like tobacco companies before them, e-cigarettes have snuck their way into Hollywood movies because it’s a tried and tested way of getting people to smoke.

NSW Health has been careful in regulating the use of e-cigarettes. Click here to read more about the regulations in place.

Refresh 6- Kids & Families

By Health Promotion

Making healthy choices easier choices

Parents and carers are pivotal, but who supports the families? We do! Refresh – kids & families is here to provide information and resources for making healthy choices easier choices.

In the modern environment, where processed foods are plentiful and screens are surplus, families are faced with many challenges when reinforcing healthy choices for life. Nurturing children’s health is a community effort.

Our Service works within different community settings making it easier for healthy choices to be easier choices.

Please click on images below for more information . . .

New year – is your goal to get healthy?

Your free NSW Health service can help provide you with the support and motivation you need to reach your goals – eat healthy, get active, achieve a healthy weight, reduce alcohol, be healthy in pregnancy. We also provide tools and calculators to help you on your Get Healthy journey to plan and track your progress.

What Central Coast families say about Go4Fun

‘We loved Go4Fun. My kids really looked forward to it every week.’ Kelly

‘My job as his mother became much easier due to this program.’ Inga

‘It has become a life and health change for my entire family.’ Samantha

Kickstart 2020 by getting healthy at work!

Get Healthy at Work is a NSW Government service that aims to help improve the health of working adults.

It focuses on smoking, healthy eating, physical activity, active travel, alcohol consumption, mental wellbeing.

You don’t need to try to

Quit Smoking on your own.

Refresh – Kids & Families 5

By Health Promotion

Refresh – Kids & Families

Making it easier for healthy choices to be easier choices

Parents and carers are pivotal, but who supports the families? We do!

In the modern environment, where processed foods are plentiful and screens are surplus, families are faced with many challenges when reinforcing healthy habits for life. Nurturing children’s health is a community effort.

Our Service works within different community settings to make it easier for healthy choices to be easier choices.

Please click on images below for more information . . .