The plight of a mother struggling to sanitise baby bottles in a bushfire evacuation centre toilet is contributing to research to ensure very young children's needs are not overlooked in disaster preparation efforts.
"It was gastro waiting to happen," said Red Cross emergency services volunteer Pam Halnon, who met the young mother in a Mallacoota evacuation centre in 2020 during the Black Summer bushfires.
"She was trying to clean her baby's bottles in cold water in a shared bathroom that was simply not suited to the task – but she couldn't see any other options," Ms Halnon said.
Ms Halnon, who is also a trained Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) counsellor, was able to swing into action to support that mother and other parents at the centre who were struggling to meet a range of needs.
"Breast-feeding mothers were also facing difficulties. The upheaval of a disaster can make babies fussy and unsettled and mothers can interpret that as meaning that there is a problem with their milk supply – so they need support to keep breast-feeding.
