Dr Laura Baxter - Breastfeeding Medicine GP

15/11/2025

Kangaroo mother care is a simple, proven and life-saving intervention for babies born early (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or small (under 2.5kg at birth)

WHO recommends it should be started as soon as possible after birth and sustained for as many hours as possible.

It dramatically improves health outcomes while meeting baby’s needs for:
💕 warmth
💕 nutrition
💕 stimulation
💕 safety
💕 love

14/11/2025

Looking forward to a weekend of education and networking in Sydney in May!

It's time!!!

🎉🤱🥳🤱🏻🎊🤱🏼🎊 🤱🏽🥳🤱🏾🎉

The organising committee of the Breastfeeding Medicine Network Australia and New Zealand are thrilled to announce that registrations are now open for our 2026 Conference!!!

The BMNANZ 2026 conference will be held at The Brighton Hotel Sydney - MGallery Collection from May 1-3, 2026.

On Friday May 1, our pre-conference workshop will offer an immersive day of hands-on learning and professional development for breastfeeding medicine doctors. This practical workshop will showcase an engaging program of live demonstrations, small group sessions, and collaborative learning.

Due to the nature of the workshop, spaces are limited and attendance is only offered face to face. The full programme will be available on the conference website in the next week.

Book early to avoid disappointment!

Following on from our pre-conference workshop, we have a jam-packed, 2 day conference planned, featuring speakers from all over the world. The programme will be published in the coming days and then, over the next couple of months, we look forward to sharing profiles of each of our speakers with you via social media.

For now, you can get a sneak peek of what's on offer by visiting the conference website: https://na.eventscloud.com/website/90486/home/

And if you can't get to Sydney (or you want to watch sessions again!), the conference (but NOT the workshop) will be recorded (but NOT live-streamed). Recordings will be made available a few weeks AFTER the conference, for a period of 3 months (TBC).

For those involved in lactation and breastfeeding research, we would love you to consider submitting a poster abstract: https://na.eventscloud.com/website/90486/poster-abstracts/

And if you’re as excited as us and ready to register before the program is even published, click here 😍👏🤱🏻: https://na.eventscloud.com/website/90486/registration/

We hope to see you there!

13/11/2025

08/11/2025

New research shows GPs hear an average of eight health issues in just one consultation, leading to calls for a health policy shift to reflect this...

31/10/2025

This…

31/10/2025

31/10/2025

Weight gains… should all babies be above 50th centile?
Spoiler alert… no… only 50 percent of babies should be above the 50th centile line on the and 50 percent below so if you baby is one that’s under that’s ok… as long as their growth is roughly following a line.
And don’t forget growth really slows down after 4 months!

Just like in the fictional Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon, where “all the children are above average,” many parents believe there is something wrong if their breastfeeding baby’s weight isn’t above the 50th percentile. While it is human to want our children to excel, the assumption that babi...

31/10/2025

Breastfeeding is known to substantially reduce the risk of breast cancer, but the mechanisms underlying this protection haven't been well defined. 🤱

Recently, breastfeeding scientists have described an immune mediated mechanism that can explain this phenomenon.🧪🔬

You can read more about it here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03419-4

In the following posts, we will explain some other mechanisms that are theorised to also explain this preventive action.🩵💛

29/10/2025

⚠️ “Can you wear your silicone pump ALL day?” 👀
Spoiler alert: Can and should are two different things. 😅

💭 MYTH: Silicone passive suctions pumps (like a Haakaa) should be worn for every feeding, on the breast you're not feeding on, to "catch drips."
💡 TRUTH: Using one of these too often can damage your ni***es and cause/accelerate oversupply. It's not a dripc catcher, it's truly a pump!
⚠️ WARNING: removing milk from the second breast sometimes takes the "easy" milk out, so when baby switches to that breast they don't get enough milk.

✨ Tips & Tricks:
✔️ Use it for 5 minutes max — just long enough to catch letdown.
✔️ Break the suction gently before removing (don’t pull!).
✔️ ONLY use it on what I call the third breast- nurse on the first side, then latch baby to the second breast and put the pump on the side baby already finished on to increase supply if needed (and ONLY if needed)

Remember, its not just catching drips- it's pulling out milk. Use these CAREFULLY 💕

💬 Have you ever overused your silicone pump without realizing it? Comment “guilty 😅” below — or drop your best silicone pump hack for new parents!

27/10/2025

The magic of breastmilk…

Your breastmilk is basically magic...

It changes every single feed - even every sip — to give your baby exactly what they need.
Inside every drop you'll find:

💧 Water - about 87% for hydration
💪 Proteins - for growth & immune support
🧠 Fats - for energy, brain & eye development
🤱 Carbs - for energy, gut health & calcium absorption
Vitamins & Minerals - for growth & health
💛 Antibodies — to fight infection
🌟 Hormones & Growth Factors - to aid development & bonding

No two mamas' milk is the same — it's made just for your baby.