Five volunteer counsellors at Australia’s largest breastfeeding support group have left their roles after colleagues complained about social media posts that allegedly included “near obsessive use of the word mother”.
Seven long-term volunteers were investigated by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) after allegedly repeatedly commenting on social media posts using terms such as “mother” or “breastfeeding” even if the original poster had used “parent” or other gender-neutral language.
Five of the women left the organisation between November and February after the months-long complaints process. Two of them were removed from their roles by the association.
According to documents seen by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, the complainants said they were caused harm and believed “the near obsessive use of the word mother suggests that others are not welcome in the ABA”.
The investigations prompted 37 association members, including two former board members, to write to the association’s board stating the complaints were “frivolous and unjustified”. The members called for an external investigation and an apology to those being investigated.
The Australian Breastfeeding Association is the latest in a series of global breastfeeding and maternal and infant care organisations, including the world’s biggest, La Leche League, to experience internal tension and dissent over the use of words to describe those who have and feed babies.
Source: Breastfeeding counsellors exit amid row over use of ‘mother’