Plan B

This week Victoria took a hammering from the weather during the last days of Melbourne's lockdown. Huge wind and rain storms in the night and into the next day took out power in large areas of the suburbs and brought floods to Gippsland. Water supplies in some areas were tainted and residents advised not to drink the tap water. Power is not expected to be restored in some areas for several days.

#breastfeeding is safe and reliable in such emergencies but babies who rely on expressed breastmilk, donor milk or infant formula are vulnerable to supply interruptions. Donors and recipients can lose their freezer stores. Formula fed babies might not have access to safe water and flooding can spoil stocks in shops and homes. Road closures from flood waters and fallen trees can mean families are cut off from retailers. Exclusively expressing mothers can lose access to power clean water and equipment can be lost or damaged by flood waters.

Breastfeeding mothers may need to provide emergency milk for family or friends in their community. The bushfires of 2019/20 showed that emergencies can occur anywhere and anytime.

Learning to hand express is a skill most breastfeeding mothers can do and means they can remove milk from their breasts if needed in emergencies. The technique can be challenging to perfect under pressure so it makes sense to practice when you are relaxed and not needing any milk you collect immediately. Because we have all come to realise in the past year or so - you can't always plan ahead.