Raise it for Redcliffe helps new mothers

Thanks to last year’s Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital Giving Day, midwives are partnering with new mothers to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates at the hospital.

The Breastfeeding Project is being featured during World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August).

Project co-leads Terri Curcio and Kat Ross, who are midwives and lactation consultants, say exclusive breastfeeding rates when mothers are discharged from Redcliffe Hospital were lower compared to other public maternity facilities across Queensland.

“The goal for all maternity facilities is to achieve and maintain at least a 75 per cent exclusive breastfeeding or breastmilk-feeding rate at discharge,” Terri says.

“The project aim is to explore the experiences of women who are birthing at Redcliffe Hospital and wish to breastfeed, with a particular focus on how antenatal and in hospital care may influence breastfeeding capacity after birth.”

The countdown is now on to this year’s Raise it for Redcliffe Giving Day on August 29. It is a partnership between the RBWH Foundation and Redcliffe Hospital.

Money raised supports research, such as the Breastfeeding Project, as well as patient care projects and other hospital initiatives that fall outside the scope of government funding.

Every donation received by Giving Day will be doubled by Giving Day Impact Partners, for twice the impact. Donations can be made online.

RBWH Foundation CEO Simone Garske says more than $800,000 has been raised by the community since Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital was launched in 2020.

“This year, Giving Day hopes to surpass $1 million to make even greater community impact,” she says.

The Breastfeeding Project is partnering with Consumer Co-lead representative Sue Chapman, through the Redcliffe Hospital Co-Design Research Internship Program (CRISP).

Sue was a Registered Nurse for 24 years, working in adult and paediatric services. Now a grandmother, she says watching her daughter’s experience after the birth of her grandson, prompted her involvement as a consumer.

“Witnessing what I would call a maze, that had so many confusing and conflicting ways to go, was not something I would wish upon anyone,” Sue explains.

“When this opportunity became available, I knew I could give something to the community and the hospital. To try and create change in regard to breastfeeding and what is available to mums is something I’ve become very passionate about.”

To find out more about Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital, visit the website. Giving Day will feature bake and plant sales, sausage sizzle, spin the wheel for prizes, ping pong tournament and more. Follow the latest on Facebook.