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 career began like that of many nurses and midwives of the late 70’s and 80’s in that my initial registration was achieved through hospital-based certification. I have worked predominantly in midwifery in Australia and the Middle East in a variety of settings. These settings include public and private hospitals, in multicultural environments and in private practice as a midwife and IBCLC© while in the Middle East.
During my time in the Middle East, I conducted education programs for doctors, nurses and midwives to prepare for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE©) exam in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. In the five-year period from 2000 - 2005, the number of IBCLCs in the United Arab Emirates grew from 3 to over 350. The majority of my students came from non-English speaking backgrounds and the pass rate for the IBLCE© exam was an astounding 98%. Furthermore, during that time I consulted with the World Health Organization on the Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding.
After the first group of candidates passed the exam, I immediately established the United Arab Emirates Lactation Consultants Association as founding president and am an Honorary lifetime member. For this work, I was recognised by IBLCE© by being awarded the International Volunteer of the Year award in 2001 and appointed as Coordinator for IBLCE© of UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar from 1999 – 2004. In 2005 I held the position of IBLCE Regional Director for the Asia Pacific and Africa regions.
One of my many passions is the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and as such have been actively involved in BFHI across the Middle East and in Queensland, having held the position of Queensland chair and one-time BFHI national committee member. Additionally, I have facilitated a number of hospitals across Queensland to successful BFHI accreditation. Furthermore, I have been active in developing policy, guidelines and governance processes at local and state levels to support breastfeeding.
A major personal achievement is completing a Master thesis on maternity reforms and having published in my area of study. Similarly, I have published a breastfeeding chapter for a national paediatric nurses’ text.
Since returning to Australia in 2008, I have continued to provide a comprehensive lactation education program that meets the eligibility criteria for candidates to sit the IBLCE© exam through my business ‘Facts of Life™ Lactation Education’. The success of the exam candidates remains high (approximately 98%). In keeping pace with current trends, the program and a suite of short courses have transitioned to an online mode of delivery. With that in mind, I look forward to providing lactation education for some time to come.