Who are we?
We want families to have empowered, positive experiences through the childbearing years. We want to “ensure that not only do women survive childbirth complications if they arise, but also that they thrive and reach their full potential for health and life.” (WHO, 2018) This leads to family and community wellness and can be achieved by utilizing the services of skilled professionals who support families.
Institutionalized birth is perceived by many to have improved birth outcomes but this is not reflected in the statistics. Birth trauma is real. Parents often feel isolated and vulnerable. Their experiences in the childbearing year can have a profound and lasting impact on the parents they become. Their family and friends can be at a loss as to how to support them as they struggle with the realities of their birth and parenting experiences when they do not match the hopes and dreams they had. Minority and marginalized groups have poorer outcomes when compared to dominant cultural groups with higher morbidity and mortality rates for both birthing parents and their babies. This is often blamed on poorer health within these groups but has been clearly shown to be related to systemic discrimination.
Healthcare providers are often overworked and confined by policies and procedures that prevent them from providing the level of care they aspire to. Expectations of co-workers, institutional prejudice, horizontal violence, administration, and insurance companies limit their ability to speak out when they see practices taking place that are not in the best interests of the families they work with.
Within the birth and breastfeeding support industry, there has been an escalation in recent years in horizontal violence, judgment and an inability to embrace the value of different approaches to the work carried out. Many now advocate for one right way of marketing and providing services, with aggression towards those who choose alternative ways of working commonplace. We want to re-establish the values that built this industry – a desire to be with families during one of the most profound periods of their lives, an acceptance of the myriad ways that we can choose to structure and operate our businesses, supporting and nurturing our peer relationships, and an acknowledgement that there is no one right way to provide care and support to families.
Across the world, our industry is not representative of the diversity of people giving birth and families parenting, with a lack of diversity in those driving the training of birth and breastfeeding professionals. We believe the industry will benefit through establishing guidelines, expectations, and training in competency so that all families are supported, regardless of who they are or their values. We need to support training organizations to offer programs that encourage inclusivity and expectations of ethics and professionalism. We need to find ways to center the voices of diverse groups, become part of and bring their voice to the industry, and have a seat at the table in determining the direction we take in the future. We need to recognize the issues that affect minority and marginalized groups and the unique challenges that face them and work together to find solutions to resolve these issues. We need to find ways to come together to work toward the common goal of having competent, passionate professionals guiding families through the early years. Working with a birth-breastfeeding professional should not be a privilege only available to the wealthy, but the right of all families to be surrounded by those who will support them.
Parents who are educated, supported and respected through this period are more likely to be strong advocates for themselves and their families. When families are healthy, communities are healthy. All professionals working with birthing and breastfeeding families have a vital role to play in this process.
Our Goals
We aim to:
- Establish competency standards that define the minimum competencies for professionals.
- Create an industry culture where everyone feels respected, valued and safe through inclusivity and non-violent communication.
- Ensure the voices of minority and marginalized groups and cultures are represented, heard, respected, celebrated and embraced.
- Bring together a diverse group of industry leaders to uphold standards and represent the industry, driving positive change and growth.
- Ensure that assessment of competency for recognition is independent of a single training organization.
- Encourage grassroots support networks to identify their own local issues and have guidance on resolving these in ways that work for them.
- Provide opportunities for community groups who are addressing the unique needs of minority and marginalized people within their communities.
- Recognize and honor the many different paths that a birth-breastfeeding professional can take to achieve competency.
Our Structure
IBBA is a social enterprise representing professionals and training organizations from across the world. IBBA provides consultation to training organizations to assist them in developing competency-based programs and supports professionals in assessing their competencies.
IBBA has six advisory board positions to provide different perspectives and bring their experience to enhance the services we offer. These positions represent diverse perspectives and experiences.
IBBA is established in Singapore which enables us to maintain our international focus. IBBA employs an administrative team and curriculum developers to review and assess curricula.
IBBA is committed to investing in scholarship programs that enable those who would not typically have access, to participate in training programs for birth and breastfeeding professionals. IBBA recognizes that our industry needs to have more diverse representation. People who are pregnant, birthing, or parenting want to engage professionals who look like them and understand their unique needs. The IBBA Scholarship program is designed to support those who do have access to training because of financial need.
