Join us for our fourth series of ‘Working With Women Who…Breastfeeding: Navigating Challenges’ where we'll cover a range of topics.
Dr Danielle Prime
Danielle completed her PhD in biochemistry in 2010 at The University of Western Australia with Professor Peter Hartmann and the Human Lactation Research Group. The focus of her research has been understanding more about the basic physiology of human lactation, in particular the milk ejection patterns of mothers and the dynamics of milk removal with a breast pump. With peer-reviewed publications on the topics of breastshields, double pumping and principles for maintaining or increasing milk production, Danielle aims to provide clinicians and mothers' evidence-based, practical knowledge.
Linda Deys
Linda Deys is a midwife of over 30 years’ experience and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant of nearly 20 years. She currently works for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local health District on the south coast of NSW as CMC Lactation Support. Linda completed her Master of Primary Maternity Care at Griffith University in 2017 and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Wollongong, seeking to understand the experience of women who have been separated unnecessarily from their baby after caesarean section. Linda is a member and secretary of the NSW State BFHI Reference group and recently supported 2 hospitals within the health district to attain their first BFHI accreditation. She is passionate about the role of midwives in supporting women to achieve their breastfeeding goals, particularly by normalising newborn behaviours and the management of common breastfeeding problems.
Lois Wattis
Lois’ career spans 25 years working in both hospital and community settings, achieving accreditation as an Independently Practising Midwife in 2002 and an IBCLC in 2004. Lois has authored numerous articles published in professional journals nationally and internationally, and her outstanding contribution to Midwifery was formally recognised in 2006 with a Fellow of Australian College of Midwives awarded at The International Congress of Midwives, Brisbane.
In 2007 Lois accepted the role of Clinical Midwife Lactation Consultant with Sunshine Coast Health Service providing support to breastfeeding mothers across all areas of the hospital as well as lactation education of staff. The maintenance of collaborative relationships with Neonatologist, Speech Pathologists, Obstetricians and Allied Health Clinicians was fundamental to her role. Lois contributed to the development of most lactation policies including a Workplace Instruction guiding evidence-based assessment and treatment of Ankyloglossia (infant tongue tie), culminating in Lois becoming accredited to independently assess infant tongue tie and perform scissors frenotomy.
Now semi-retired, Lois provides a private Lactation Consultancy service on the Sunshine Coast Qld which includes a weekly Tongue Tie clinic in collaboration with a Paediatric ENT. Lois is the author of “New Baby 101 – A Midwife’s Guide for New Parents”.
Chris Sulfaro
Chris Sulfaro is the National Milk Operations Manager with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. Chris’s background is nursing – she is a Registered Nurse, with post graduate qualifications in Midwifery and Perinatal Intensive Care Nursing. Chris also holds a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Management and a Master of Health Management. Chris is excited to be able to use her NICU nursing and management experience to lead Lifeblood Milk on this amazing journey that has had far reaching effects on the lives of premature babies and their families across Australia.
Candace Reynaud
I am a registered midwife for the past 6 years who has worked within a continuity model of care for 5 years at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital. To further support women and baby's breastfeeding journeys I become an International Board Lactation Consultant. I am the owner of Beautifully Natural Midwifery, a private midwifery service that will be supporting home birth. Continuity is my passion to further improving outcomes which further supports the postnatal period and breastfeeding journey.
Sharon Perrella
Sharon Perrella is a Research Fellow at the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group, The University of Western Australia. Sharon has a clinical background with a special interest in preterm breastfeeding and milk production. Since PhD graduation Sharon has used ultrasound and intraoral vacuum measurement to examine sucking dynamics and suck-swallow-breathe coordination, while her current work focuses on the identification and management of women at risk of reduced breastfeeding duration.
Joy Anderson
BSc (Nutrition) PostGradDipDiet Cert IV Breastfeeding Education (IBCLC Retired)
Joy was an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant continuously between 1991 and 2021 and has been an active volunteer Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) counsellor since 1987. She has been involved in ABA in many positions at all levels, mostly related to publications and breastfeeding information. For about 12 years, she worked part-time as a lactation consultant in private practice as well as devoting much time to ABA. In 2013, Joy was awarded Member of the Order of Australia for her service to the community through work for the Australian Breastfeeding Association. In 2008, she qualified as a dietitian from Curtin University of Technology, WA.
Joy has special interests in all aspects of infant feeding and food intolerances in general, and in particular adverse food reactions in breastfed babies. From 2009 to 2016, Joy ran a part-time private practice in Perth, WA. During this time she was unique, being the only dietitian and IBCLC in private practice in Australia focusing on adverse food reactions in breastfed infants. She consulted with clients face-to-face as well as via phone and online from all parts of the country. Joy also published a book about food-sensitive babies in 2016, which she more recently updated with a second edition.
Jill Hanson
Jill has been an IBCLC since 1994. She completed a Graduate Diploma in Child and Family Health Nursing in 1998 and a Master of Clinical Midwifery in 2008.
Jill has recently retired after 40 + years in nursing, midwifery and lactation consultancy. In 2003, Jill became the inaugural CNC Lactation Consultant at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH). The LGH has 1700 births per year, and has been continuously BFHI accredited since 2005.
Jill convened the BFHI Tas. Committee in 1996, continuing today as a Committee member and accredited Assessor and Educator. She is a Foundation Member of the Lactation Consultants of Australia & New Zealand Ltd (LCANZ), being Director and Treasurer from 2010 - 2013.
Jill has a small private lactation consultant practice in NW Tasmania. Jill and her husband have 3 children and 2 grandchildren, also enjoying reading, walking, snow skiing, travelling and van life.
Kathleen Halliday
Kathleen Halliday (she/her) is an ABA Breastfeeding Counsellor, Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and Dietitian (AdvAPD), with extensive experience working with families. Kathleen has worked predominately publicly in community health as well as privately and in tertiary education. She currently works as a Lactation Consultant in a major public hospital in Melbourne. As a graduate researcher through the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health, and Society at La Trobe University, she is currently exploring lactation care for trans and gender diverse individuals. Having been involved in the development in the ABA LGBTQIA+ resource, creating and tech hosting the pilot LGBT Breastfeeding Education Live classes, she is excited to support midwives in their work with rainbow families.
Debbie Key
Debbie is a Registered Nurse/Midwife/Child and Family Health Nurse, married to a wonderful man and a dedicated mother of five.
In 1979, Debbie was finishing high school in Toowoomba. She had a deep connection to the land and was a passionate Jillaroo, working with sheep and cattle on a property in far north Queensland. Debbie always said she had to work with animals before she could work with humans.
Debbie found nursing in 1993, when her mother-in-law with Motor Neurone Disease. This lead Debbie into a nursing career, determined to make a difference in the lives of others. Starting out as AIN in a Nursing Home, always wanting to know more, moved onto become an EEN. She was then a mother of five, juggling home life and a nursing career. She made time for study and completed a Bachelor of Nursing at Charles Sturt University Bathurst, while working full time as EEN at the Moree Hospital. It was during her post graduate year as a registered nurse at Moree Hospital that she applied to become a midwife, and the rest is history.
The last 4 years up to February this year, Debbie was the Clinical Midwife Specialist (CMS) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Maternal Infant Health Strategies (AMIHS) at Moree Community Health and travelled to run 2 outreach clinics a month 1 at Collarenebri and 1 at Mungindi for women having First Nations baby or babies, plus in the outreach clinics she saw all women as AMIHS was the only midwifery service provide in these communities. Debbie says that her ultimate goal is to contribute to the longevity of First Nations people in our communities, by improving health outcomes for women and their babies. She feels privileged to be a part of each woman’s journey at such a personal time in their life.
Dr Sonja Morgan, Kay Whitby, Alison Chambers
Sonja, Alison and Kay work together at Growlife Medical in Brisbane. The philosophy at the heart of Growlife is improving health through connection. Along with many other other team members they provide a very successful whole of practice approach when caring for families in early life and beyond.
Dr Sonja Morgan is a GP/IBCLC. Her passion lies with maternal and child health care and she is an experienced practitioner in infant sleep/settling and breastfeeding and frequently receives referrals from her GP and Paediatrician colleagues to assist in managing more complex cases including frenotomy and lactation induction.
Alison Chambers is an Endorsed Midwife/RN (Paeds/Child health) and provides antenatal/and postnatal care embedded in general practice along with child health services. After many years experience as a paediatric nurse in Australia and overseas Alison obtained further qualifications as a Midwife (2007), as well as having three children of her own. Alison is an Endorsed Midwife and has a breadth of experience in antenatal, postnatal and infant care.
Kay Whitby is a Registered Nurse and breastfeeding counsellor with decades of experience in early life care and feeding support. She is an active member of the Australian Breastfeeding Association and runs the embedded parents group and child health drop in clinic at Growlife Medical.