MaxSBF

Lots of positive developments for breastfeeding at the WHO Executive Board meeting this week. Thank you International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) for drawing on this research to inform policy and action!

Are you interested in developing your evidence synthesis skills and learning more about breastfeeding communications? The MaxSBF project is part of the latest Fellowship call for Evidence Synthesis Ireland. See the details below to apply 👇

MaxSBF kicked off 2025 with our first in-person meeting to discuss our Logic Modelling that the individual work packages have been working on. It was a great opportunity to bring our diversity of experience together and to discuss how we can achieve the aims of the project for infant and maternal health in Ireland. Thank you to Centre for Effective Services for their excellent facilitation. This brought our collective experience to the fore and will help us with making further connections to benefit the project. Thank you to all of the team and participants who brought all of their energy, enthusiasm and expertise to make the most of the day! Patricia Leahy-Warren Helen Mulcahy Elaine Lehane Jennifer Hanratty Gillian Weaver MBE Jane Bourke Emma Reilly Aoife Fleming Dr Margaret Murphy Karen Matvienko-Sikar Marian Quinn Claire Ferris Heather Morgan Association of Lactation Consultants in Ireland (ALCI) The Childhood Development Initiative Karl McGrath Caroline Rawdon Aoife Long CIRcUL - Centre for Implementation Research at UL

Our Work Package 5 team met today to discuss our Theory of Change. This Work Package focuses on Integrated Knowledge Translation Impact and Dissemination of the project research. A team from Project Collaborator Centre for Effective Services led the session, guiding us through our assumptions and evidence on sharing the research that we are doing will lead to positive outcomes and change for maternal and child health. Our team has a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives so it was a great opportunity to bring these together. Follow us to find out more about the project as we progress! Health Research Board (HRB) Health Service Executive University College Cork Association of Lactation Consultants in Ireland (ALCI) La Leche League International Denis Naughten INFANT Research Centre Jennifer Hanratty Aoife Long Karl McGrath Dr Margaret Murphy Karen Matvienko-Sikar The Human Milk Foundation Helen Mulcahy Elaine Lehane Patricia Leahy-Warren Simon Cameron Darren Dahly PhD

Congratulations to our Project Colleague Jennifer Hanratty from Centre for Effective Services on becoming a ‘Communicating with the Public Scheme' mentee with Evidence Synthesis Ireland!! This will be a big benefit to the project as we will be conducting evidence synthesis on a range of topics related to breastfeeding. Health Research Board (HRB)

Thank you Helen Mulcahy for presenting the MaxSBF project as part of your presentation to delegates at the All Ireland Annual Midwifery Conference in Dundalk this week. Helen's talk was entitled Sustainable Breastfeeding Support: Building on the evidence Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) She is pictured here with Anne McCormick

All smiles today as the team for Work Package 2: Promotion and population awareness to value breastfeeding met to discuss our Theory of Change. A team from Project Collaborator Centre for Effective Services led the session, guiding us through our assumptions and evidence on how the research we are doing will lead to positive outcomes and change fo child health. This Work Package has a national perspective, looking at making the economic case to invest in breastfeeding, developing communication tools and resources to build an enabling social environment for breastfeeding, and co-designing a milk bank service model for Ireland. Follow us to find out more about the project as we progress! Health Research Board (HRB) Health Service Executive University College Cork Association of Lactation Consultants in Ireland (ALCI) La Leche League International Centre for Effective Services Jennifer Hanratty Aoife Long Katrina Sweeney Karl McGrath Dr Margaret Murphy The Human Milk Foundation Helen Mulcahy Aoife Fleming Patricia Leahy-Warren #IntegratedKnowledgeTransfer #PPI #IKT

Great to see such an excellent feature on Infant Feeding in Emergencies on national television and congratulations to the TU Dublin Research and Innovation team!. Watch last nights episode of #10ThingsToKnow on the RTE player! Liz O'Sullivan Dr Aileen Kennedy Patricia Leahy-Warren Helen Mulcahy Elaine Lehane Aoife Fleming Dr Margaret Murphy Jennifer Hanratty Gillian Weaver MBE Karen Matvienko-Sikar

The Maximise Support for Breastfeeding project has included engaging with policymakers at all stages of the four-year project. The time, resources and expertise required to do this are part of the overall Health Research Board (HRB) funded work programme. From the outset, we are contributing to public consultations that are relevant to breastfeeding as they arise, and we look forward to engaging with policymakers as the project continues. Centre for Effective Services The Childhood Development Initiative University College Cork INFANT Research Centre

The Green Feeding and Mother's Milk tools are featured in the FAO State of Food and Agriculture 2024 Report. The MaxSBF project will be applying these tools here in Ireland to highlight the importance of the value of breastfeeding to society and the economy and the benefits of facilitating it.