Dear Mónica,
When was EABM founded and what was the reason for its inception?
Mónica Pina: Every 2 years there used to be a Regional Conference of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) in Europe. Elien Rouw was the main organiser. We began realising that, both from an organisational point of view and for responding to local needs, it would be good to have a Regional Association. Europe is a complex region, with various countries and languages and different needs.
So, in 2019, at the Blackburn ABM Meeting, Elien got a small group together, herself (Germany/ Netherlands), me (Portugal), Reet Raukas (Estonia), Michal Mansovsky (Israel) and Lara Tauritz Bakker (the Netherlands) and we started creating EABM.
It was a process involving lots of work, but in the end, we officially founded the EABM in October 2022! Elien Rouw was our 1st president, and when she became ABM’s president, I took on the presidency of EABM.
L&B: What are the EABM’s short- and long-term goals?
Mónica Pina: You can check our website at www.bfmed-europe.org
Our association has the mission of uniting European doctors of all specialties and medical students around breastfeeding medicine. Breastfeeding Medicine is the intersection between breastfeeding and medicine. We diagnose and treat families while also promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding. Any doctor should be able to recognise the importance of breastfeeding and the existence of colleagues who are specialised in this area and can better address any medical problem directly connected with breastfeeding.
Our main goal is to increase breastfeeding rates in Europe, Israel and Palestine and improve support for breastfeeding women and babies. We aim to achieve this
- a) by improving physician education, both at a basic level and at a specialised level,
- b) by promoting research in this area,
- c) by representing the medical community in political and legislative issues concerning breastfeeding and lactation,
- d) by supporting physicians across this geographic area when they have questions about breastfeeding medicine and
- e) by building a network of European physicians.
L&B: Who can become a member and what does the EABM offer its members?
Mónica Pina: Any medical student or medical doctor of any specialty can become a member. What we offer, besides community, is a place of learning. We organise frequent webinars with experts in a certain subject. For instance, our last webinar was about allergies, breastfeeding and food introduction. These webinars sometimes are open to anyone who wants to attend but have very special prices for members.
We also have member coffee sessions, where an issue is discussed. For instance, we discussed skin-to-skin care in our countries. These are really interesting moments where we realise both how different and how similar our challenges are across countries.
We have different working committees where members can participate and develop a project: the education committee, research committee, and lately we started a project of national EABM workgroups that can address local problems in a more flexible way whilst always keeping the connection with the board.
But our main activity is our conference that happens every 2 years, where we can meet and learn about breastfeeding medicine with European and international experts.
L&B: Several EABM members are also members of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM). What are the main similarities and differences between the two associations?
Mónica Pina: We always talk about ourselves as the “daughter” of ABM. We collaborate with ABM, many of our members are also ABM members, and we are moving into more collaboration, as we are planning to have a joint conference in Ireland in 2027.
L&B: How many members does EABM currently have and from which countries?
Mónica Pina: We have around 150 members from at least 24 countries. We are steadily growing, but we are a young organization, and doctors are busy people…
L&B: What activities are already taking place in relation to…
- …Conferences?
Mónica Pina: The EABM/ABM 2027 conference is already being organised. It is going to be in Ireland, probably at a University. It will be a joint organisation of the ABM and the EABM. We aim to have international and European experts in our programme and provide a moment of networking for the attendants. It is usually a very pleasant moment. Be attentive, more information will come out soon!
- L&B: Protocols and other publications? Where are these published?
Mónica Pina: We collaborate with ABM to produce protocols. We don’t have our own protocols as theirs are very good, many of them involving EABM members. We will have position statements especially in situations concerning Europe.
- L&B: Training for doctors and other health care workers?
Mónica Pina: Our Education Committee is working on a series of short clinical cases to be put online, to provide basic education to members. We are going to keep organising webinars. And more and more materials will be available on our website, so keep looking!
In the meantime, in conjunction with other organisations, it is our long-standing dream to create a basic course for doctors, with the basic of breastfeeding medicine knowledge, to be translated in all possible European languages.
- L&B: …Research?
Mónica Pina: There are plans for multinational research on subjects that impact breastfeeding. For example, we realised how different skin-to-skin practices are in different countries, and there is interest in studying this and providing a framework based on countries that are in a better place, to help countries with more way to go.
- L&B: …Political activities?
Mónica Pina: On a regional level, we have already endorsed a position expressing concern for legislative measures that could impact maternity leave, and consequently, duration of exclusive breastfeeding. We are also working on reaching EU representatives to urge them to be aware of breastfeeding protection, promotion and support in their countries. We work in collaboration with other associations involved in breastfeeding protection. We deeply believe that collaboration is the key for good care. And together we are stronger!
L&B: Dear Mónica, thank you very much for your answers!