CONTENTS Bold Thinking Series Family Violence and Alcohol: where to from here? Ringing Up about Breastfeeding (RUBY): a randomised controlled trial exploring early telephone peer support for breastfeeding Continuity of care by a primary midwife (caseload midwifery) increases women’s satisfaction with antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care – more findings from the COSMOS randomised controlled trial ‘Supporting breastfeeding In Local Communities’ (SILC) Bold Thinking Early Home Learning Study (EHLS) at Family Violence and Alcohol: where to from here? School Angela Taft Postgraduate Updates La Trobe University is running a series of high profile public forums called the Global Burden Disease (GBD) Technical ‘Bold Thinking’ series at the Clemenger Auditorium of the National Gallery on St. Training Workshop Kilda Road. The intent is to showcase the progressive and relevant up-to-date thinking of La Trobe academics. The series began with a public forum between Work and Family Research Network Emeritus Professor Robert Manne and Waleed Aly. Conference, Washington DC, 23-25 June, 2016 On Thursday 19th May, Judith Lumley Centre Director Professor Angela Taft, joined social commentator and feminist writer Clementine Ford, Police Deputy 2016 NNVAWI Conference: Commissioner Capability Wendy Steendam APM and Dr. Anne Marie Laslett Strengthening healthcare systems to from the Centre for Alcohol Policy and Research, in a forum entitled ‘Family promote safety and health of women Violence and Alcohol: where to from here?’ The event was opened by the Vice- and families Chancellor Professor John Dewar, chaired by Frances Leach and well attended with lively debate and discussion about this ‘wicked’ combination of social problems. To watch the live stream of the Bold Thinking Series, follow the link below: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/bold-thinking/stream latrobe.edu.au/jlc 1 CRICOS Provider 00115M NEWS IN BRIEF New Appointments Congratulations to Helen McLachlan who has been appointed to the leadership role of Site Director (Bundoora) for the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Congratulations to Michelle Newton who has been appointed as the Director of Teaching and Learning, School of Nursing and Midwifery. Graduation and awards Ringing Up about Breastfeeding (RUBY): a randomised controlled trial exploring early telephone peer support for breastfeeding Fiona McLardie-Hore Breastfeeding is important for both mothers and babies, and although most women in Australia start breastfeeding, many stop sooner than they had planned. Evidence on how to maintain breastfeeding in countries with intermediate to high breastfeeding initiation is sparse and many strategies aimed at increasing breastfeeding duration have not been successful. RUBY is Congratulations to Leesa Hooker, who the first Australian randomised controlled trial exploring if early telephone peer recently graduated with her PhD. Her thesis support helps women to continue breastfeeding, and is based on research by publication was titled Strengthening conducted by Professor Cindy-Lee Dennis in Canada. The maternal & child health nursing practice for study is a collaboration between La Trobe University, the women and children experiencing family Royal Women’s Hospital and the Australian Breastfeeding violence. She was supervised by Professors Association, with recruitment of participants from the Royal Angela Taft and Rhonda Small. Women’s Hospital, Monash Health and Western Health, Kristina Evardsson won the Perinatal Society Sunshine. Funding was provided by the Felton Bequest. of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) New Investigator Award, Best Poster Over the past three years, 237 volunteers have been trained to provide Presentation, Epidemiology and Public breastfeeding support to the new mothers participating in the study who have Health at the PSANZ 2016 20th Annual been randomly allocated to receive this telephone support. The volunteers call Congress, Townsville, Australia. The title of mothers frequently in the early weeks after birth, when women are more likely her oral and poster presentation was to stop breastfeeding, with less frequent calls up until six months. Heather Physicians’ experiences and views on the role Grimes has been coordinating the volunteer program and is exploring the peer of obstetric ultrasound in rural and urban volunteers’ perspective, collecting data from volunteer call logs, an online Rwanda: a qualitative study. survey and focus groups, as part of her “Pass it on” sub-study. latrobe.edu.au/jlc 2 CRICOS Provider 00115M Recruitment of all 1152 participants concluded in December 2015, with over Staff news 1000 follow-up interviews completed so far and 348 completed surveys about We warmly welcome two women’s experiences of peer support. We expect to finish collecting all the new staff members to JLC, study data by September this year. For my PhD research, I will be exploring who are working across a women’s experience and satisfaction of receiving peer support, through data number of projects within collected from the experience of peer support surveys and face to face the Transition to interviews with participants. Contemporary Parenthood Program. Jasmine Love Two conference abstracts have been accepted for oral presentation at the 31st started working at JLC in triennial congress of the International Confederation of Midwives in Toronto March on the ‘EHLS@School’ project. 2017. Della Forster will be presenting the primary outcomes and I will be presenting women’s satisfaction with telephone peer support for breastfeeding. Dr Stacey Hokke started at the Centre in May and is Chief Investigators: Della Forster, Helen McLachlan, Mary-Ann Davey, Lisa Amir, working on two projects - Lisa Gold, Rhonda Small ‘Families@Work’ and Associate Investigators: Kate Mortensen (ABA), Nanette Shone (ABA), Anita ‘Recruiting and tracing Moorhead (Women’s), Patrice Hickey (Sunshine), Jenny Tenni (Sunshine), Fiona research participants via McLardie-Hore (Women’s), Cindy-Lee Dennis, Chris East (MMC), Heather Grimes social media: feasibility and ethics’. (JLC) We also welcome our new administrative officer, Taylyn Hulse. She started in May and has a background in Continuity of care by a primary midwife psychological research (caseload midwifery) increases women’s administration within American Universities. satisfaction with antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care – more findings In the first half of this year, JLC farewelled from the COSMOS randomised controlled two significant staff members who trial contributed greatly to the research work and to the supportive culture of the centre. Della Forster Firstly, Simone Pakin, who has been the Continuity of care by a primary midwife during the antenatal, intrapartum and driving force of sound postpartum periods has been recommended in Australia, and many hospitals administration and social have introduced a caseload midwifery model of care. The model includes wellbeing in the centre antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care from a primary midwife with back- for the past five years, up provided by another known midwife when necessary. We conducted the left to join her husband COSMOS (COmparing Standard Maternity care with One to one midwifery in his business. Simone had the formal title Support) randomised controlled trial (the world’s largest trial of caseload of Research and Grants Officer, but her midwifery and the first in Australia) and found that women allocated to care ability to organise efficient systems for with a known midwife had better outcomes overall compared with women who recording our work, to organise our rooms received usual care, and their babies did as well. Women had fewer caesarean and resources, to maintain and beautifully births, and fewer interventions in labour and birth overall. Their babies were less design our website and publications and likely to be admitted to the special care or neonatal unit, and less likely to have a keep them up to date, was fundamental to low weight at birth. Women also reported a better experience in many aspects the successful public face of the Judith latrobe.edu.au/jlc 3 CRICOS Provider 00115M Lumley Centre. More than this, Simone of their birth, for example they were more likely to say they were proud of with her generosity of spirit and her themselves and less likely to feel negative about labour and birth. organisational skills contributed to the social wellbeing of the centre, organising Another aspect we explored in the COSMOS study was the effect of caseload Christmas in July, decorating the centre, midwifery on women’s satisfaction with care across the maternity continuum. making sure gifts reached those whose We asked women’s views using a questionnaire when we first recruited them to event it was, and keeping us clean and the study, and by a follow-up questionnaire sent at two months after the birth. well-organised. “You know I’m Austrian”, We recruited 2,314 women attending the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne she would say. She is much missed. to the trial, and of these, 1,156 were allocated to receive caseload care and 1,158 were allocated to the standard options of care. Compared with standard Our second farewell was care, caseload care was associated with higher overall ratings of satisfaction to Mridula Shankar. Her Masters from Berkeley with antenatal care. University in the US on sexual and reproductive Our conclusion was that for women at low risk of medical complications, rights and services in caseload midwifery increases women’s satisfaction with