Simone Casey
Profile:
Simone Casey is a volunteer breastfeeding counsellor with the Australian Breastfeeding Association, as well as a writer and editor in the magazine industry. Simone is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), holds a Certificate IV Breastfeeding Education (Counselling), Certificate IV Breastfeeding Education (Community) and has breastfed three children, now aged 10, 7 and 1. She gives mother-to-mother support to women in her community as group leader of an ABA group in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, where she coordinates support meetings, hires out breast pumps, liaises with health professionals as well as signing on for shifts on the ABA’s 24-hour Breastfeeding Helpline (1800 mum 2 mum), which assists an average of 1400 callers per week. ‘Before I had my first baby, I had no idea I would fall so in love with breastfeeding, and feel so compelled to help other mums to be able to experience what I did’, she says. ‘In our culture, women don’t see breastfeeding on a day-to-day basis and often our families don’t live nearby so there’s not the support that’s needed to learn to breastfeed.’ By volunteering her time and skills to ABA, Simone feels she is able to be there for other mothers who are finding breastfeeding difficult, need to be reassured that what they are experiencing is normal, or answer common questions like how to tell your baby is getting enough, manage cracked nipples, relieve engorged breasts, or increase supply.