Bridget Roache
Midwife, Registered Nurse, Grad Dip: Child Birth Education, IBCLC©, Trainer: World Health Organization Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, Master of Science (Res).
My journey into nursing and midwifery began, like many of my peers in the late 1970’s and 1980’s, in a busy teaching hospital where I completed my initial registration through hospital-based certification. Over the years, I’ve worked primarily in midwifery across Australia and the Middle East, in both public and private hospitals and richly diverse multicultural settings. During my time overseas, I also established a private practice as a midwife and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC©), supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and the early months of parenting.
While living in the Middle East, I developed and taught education programs for doctors, nurses, and midwives preparing for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE©) exam in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Between 2000 and 2005, the number of IBCLC©s in the UAE grew from just three to more than 350, with an impressive 98% pass rate among my predominantly non-English-speaking students. During this time, I also had the privilege of consulting with the World Health Organization on the Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding, further strengthening my commitment to improving breastfeeding support worldwide.
Following the success of those early IBLCE© candidates, I founded the United Arab Emirates Lactation Consultants Association, serving as its first President and later being honoured as an Honorary Lifetime Member. I was recognised with the IBLCE© International Volunteer of the Year Award in 2001, and went on to serve as IBLCE© Coordinator for the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar before being appointed Regional Director for the Asia Pacific and Africa regions in 2005. Throughout my career, the principles of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and the WHO/UNICEF International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes have been a constant guide, and I have contributed to BFHI implementation, policy, and governance at hospital, state, and national levels in both the Middle East and Queensland.
Since returning to Australia in 2008, I have continued to focus on education, mentorship, and advocacy in lactation and midwifery. Through my business, Facts of Life™ Lactation Education, I provide a comprehensive program that meets eligibility criteria for IBLCE© exam candidates, along with a growing suite of flexible online short courses designed to support busy health professionals. I have also worked as a Midwifery Lecturer and as an Associate Director with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC), helping to uphold the quality of nursing and midwifery education in Australia. Today, my passion remains the same: to advance breastfeeding support, strengthen midwifery practice, and warmly support professionals as they prepare for the IBLCE© examination and integrate evidence-based breastfeeding care into their everyday practice.