Mary Paton founded the Nursing Mothers' Association with five other mothers in
Melbourne after having difficulty
breastfeeding her first child. Doctors and nurses at the time were not trained to handle breastfeeding problems and with the modern
nuclear family there were few older women to turn to for advice, so the founding members supported each other. This created the model for mother-to-mother support that continues today. The other founders were Glenise Francis, Pat Patterson, Jan Barry (a member of the
Coles family), Pauline Pick and Sue Woods. In 1981 she received an Advance Australia Award and in 1993 was
Family Circle magazine's 'Woman of the Year.' She was awarded an Order of the General Division of the
Order of Australia (OAM) in 1978. In 2001, NMAA changed its name to Australian Breastfeeding Association and Paton was included in the
Victorian Honour Roll of Women as part of the Centenary of Federation's Ordinary Woman: Extraordinary lives. In March 2004 Paton became an
Australian Living Treasure. On the 2006 Australia Day Honours list Mary Paton OAM, was awarded the higher honour of Member (AM) in the general division - 'for service to the community as the founder of the Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia, and to the development of policies, protocols, management, support and training methods to assist nursing mothers and their babies.' == References ==