In 2022 110 accredited La Leche League Leaders offered information and support to mothers through 36 Groups in Ireland. Post pandemic, La Leche League Groups reopened carefully and with appropriate measures in place to reassure mothers, most of whom were eager to return to in person meetings and to share their experiences of birth and breastfeeding during lockdown.
Having hosted weekly zoom meetings during the pandemic many Groups were keen to continue with their on line meetings in addition to in person meetings. This online facility has proven to be very popular with many mothers and is an additional support for mothers and families going forward. Mothers have the freedom to join the online meeting with minimal disruption, many doing so from home and hospital beds, and from almost any where in the world. Indeed we have mothers “zooming in” from France, Italy, South Africa and many other parts of the globe. La Leche League of Ireland hosts a weekly online meeting every Thursday facilitated by Leaders around the country.
Leader and Leader Applicant Training happened via zoom at the beginning of the year but we were delighted to resume in person training in September2022, when we gathered in Co. Galway for our annual training weekend, the first in person training since 2020.
Conference 2022
The Conference was an online event again in 2022. Delegates enjoyed excellent sessions including Dr. Anne Doolan’s presentation on “The Power of Human Milk in the NICU” and “Optimising the Breastfeeding Experience” by Anne Eglash MD, IBCLA,FAMB.
Health Professional Seminars
This year La Leche League organised two Health Professional seminars. In February Carol Smyth, IBCLC, spoke on "Why Infant reflux Matters" and Anne Eglash MD, IBCLA,FAMB presented on "What’s new in 2021/2022? Clinically relevant research in breastfeeding and lactation.”
A second seminar to celebrate National Breastfeeding week in October saw Dr. Eglash give an excellent presentation on “Breastfeeding: why are we making it so complicated?” Again over 400 Health Professionals registered for this event.
LLL of Ireland would like to thank the many dedicated Health Professionals who went out of their way to provide evidence based breastfeeding care during and since the pandemic. We really appreciate the many referrals to our local LLL Groups.
Meetings
Following the lifting of COVID restrictions in February many Groups began to reopen and rebuild, coping with changes to venues and social distancing practices while offering a warm and welcoming experience to the mothers and babies who were so keen to meet and share their lockdown stories. Many Leaders and mothers noted in particular the delight of the babies to be in each others company.
La Leche League of Ireland has initiated a new online course called “Beginning Breastfeeding” aimed at pregnant mothers and their supporters. The course is 4 hours duration over two sessions and has been very popular with the families who participated. As the course develops it is planned to offer it on a monthly basis to expectant mums and their families.
Public Relations Team
The P.R. team are encouraging new methods of communication with mothers and the promotion of La Leche League information and meetings through engaging in many platforms i.e. Instagram and Twitter. We have produced informational videos about breastfeeding events and encourage the distribution of information leaflets to breastfeeding families and Health
Professionals. This is in addition to the support that Leaders offer through the social media and more conventional channels via meetings, phone calls, text and one to one support.
