Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect. Cardiac and respiratory inefficiency complicate feeding for a significant minority of infants. Breastfeeding is generally easier for these infants than other feeding methods, especially if modifications are made to accommodate their reduced stamina and ability to manage flow. This presentation reviews the most common cardiac and respiratory issues in newborns and infants, along with research-based strategies to preserve breastfeeding and educate parents about their baby’s special feeding needs.
1.5 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: I, II, III, IV, VI, VII)
When good management isn’t good enough to improve low milk supply, what else could it be? Hormones play important roles in lactation and when they aren’t working right lactation may be affected. Conditions such as thyroid dysfunction, diabetes, prolactin problems and polycystic ovary syndrome affect lactation for some individuals. This session discusses how hormones work, what kinds of things can go wrong, identifying problems and developing treatment strategies.
2 L Cerps (IBLCE Content Outline: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII)
This presentation is a deep dive into nipple pain dynamics, including wound assessment, classification, pathology identification, and exciting new leading-edge, evidence-based treatment options to enlarge your practice toolbox and reduce the nipple pain misery so many new parents experience.
1.5 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: III, IV, VI, VII)
Dental caries is a chronic disease that relates to the modern lifestyle. The diagnosis of early childhood caries in breastfeeding toddlers usually results in an extreme treatment and prevention approach including the use of general anaesthesia and the recommendation of abrupt weaning, which is not always supported by evidence-based literature. Gina shares the results of a critical analysis of current knowledge regarding the implications of breastfeeding on dental caries development.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: I, II, III, IV, VI, VII)
This talk will explore current issues, with reference to the research, within the field of infant tongue-tie that are subject to debate and controversy. This will include how tongue-ties should be divided, how we define a successful division, the concept of the faux tie, changes in our understanding of anatomy and how this impacts practice, how tongue-tie impacts speech and how it relates to sleep disorders. It will also look at aftercare and lip tie.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: I, II, III, VI, VII)
Reproduction is a universal drive and encompasses a series of species-specific highly conserved neuroendocrine behaviours, including, in mammals, breastfeeding. In non-human species, sexual behaviour is scientifically considered akin to reproductive behaviour. However, in humans, reproductive medicine and sexology are two disciplines that have little or no interdisciplinary co-operation. As reproduction, including breastfeeding, becomes more and more technically assisted, it grows further from sexuality and its myriad relationships, meanings and expressions. This rift also has an impact on breastfeeding. Is nursing an infant or child a sexual act or a reproductive one? Why does this matter?
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: V, VII)
In this presentation Renée will use a recently conducted meta-ethnographic review to illuminate what characterizes and facilitates a positive breastfeeding experience in mothers of preterm and/or LBW infants. The findings from showed that a positive breastfeeding experience was identified as being ‘attuned’. Attuned breastfeeding occurred when the mother trusted her body and what it could produce, when she could be emotionally and physical present in the here and now and when she experienced mutual positive responses with her infant. Implications and recommendations for practice and research will also be presented.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII)
Return to work has been identified as a barrier to ongoing breastfeeding and one of the reasons for breastfeeding cessation. Many women return to work during the period of exclusive breastfeeding and/or in the second six months and beyond. Interviews with women who had returned to work and maintained breastfeeding within the last 3 years, in the female dominated professions of teaching, nursing and midwifery, provided rich accounts of the experience of negotiating the maintenance of breastmilk supply whilst working. Participants highlighted both enabling and disabling factors in the workplace. Across the data set common threads became apparent and parallel issues impacted all three professions.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: V, VII)
Medication use during lactation is often misunderstood and incorrectly addressed by health professionals. It is common to use medication while lactating, and its prominence is only increasing as more people with complex medical histories are giving birth and/or providing human milk to babies. It is important to understand the properties of medications and how these properties determine a medication’s ability to transfer to human milk, especially in acute situations such as surgeries and diagnostic tests. Clinicians also need to know what references to use when answering questions regarding medication use and lactation and be able to apply their knowledge to real life scenarios.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: II, III, IV)
‘Faltering Weight’ is used to describe a baby whose weight gain is less than expected, and in 2017 NICE Guidance was produced to provide evidence-based information and recommendations for those working with the weight faltering babies. This presentation seeks to provide information and resources on supporting the families of breastfed babies who are weight faltering and explores some case studies for discussion.
Following the presentation, participants will be able to:
IBLCE Content Outline: 1 L Cerp (I, II, III, VII)
The presentation will cover the following:
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: I, II, III, IV, VI, VII)
Failure to breastfeed successfully has become one of the more common presentations to osteopaths (and other manual practitioners) treating early life disorders. As ‘hands-on’ manual practitioners, osteopaths are uniquely placed in our understanding of how structural dysfunctions – often seemingly minor, can impact on a baby’s ability to breastfeed. One of the keys to recognising and treating an infant struggling with breast feeding, is an overview of the suck/swallow/breathe mechanism, the related neuro-anatomy, an understanding of the impact of the intrauterine environment and birth process on the neonate, and demonstration of some relevant techniques offered by osteopaths.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: II, III, VI, VII)
As humans evolved, the milk specific to nourishing, protecting, and developing their babies went through an incredible transformation. The unique demands of having placentas, growing large brains, and making milk for infants that required rapid maturation post-delivery led to a unique set of neohormones. Neohormones facilitate reproduction in the mammal, direct the development of mammary tissue and are a significant component of human milk. Neohormones interact with the epigenome and microbiome, targeting certain genes that lead to reproductive success. In this presentation, you will learn about these fascinating components in human milk and the extraordinary role they play in human development.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: I, III, VII)
A weight loss of 10% or greater is generally cause for concern and merits further medical evaluation. Infants are given breast milk substitutes in the hospital shortly following birth for various reasons, including if they have lost greater than approximately 7 to 10 percent of their body weight since birth. Evidence as to the factors that contribute to excess weight loss in newborn infants is a multifaceted phenomenon. Fluid overload is one clinical factor that not only affects the mother, but the newborn infant as well. The intravenous fluids used during labour may be associated with neonatal weight loss. This presentation shares the study results to determine if intravenous therapy before and during labour increased the risk of newborn weight loss with evidence.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: I, II, IV, VII)
An overview of neonatal jaundice will be presented. The pathophysiology of hyperbilirubinemia will be explained. Red flags for medical opinion and treatment will be highlighted. Strategies for supporting breastfeeding and optimising lactation during and following resolution of jaundice will be explored.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: I, II, III)
Most health professionals are familiar with the statistics regarding Black breastfeeding rates, but few know the reasons behind the numbers. This presentation will explore the history of Black breastfeeding in the USA and how that- coupled with medical racism and the implicit bias in our healthcare system- has a profound effect on Black breastfeeding rates. Although the focus is specific to Black breastfeeding in the USA, due to worldwide colonization by European nations, many of the issues and potential solutions are applicable to Black, Indigenous and other persons of colour (BIPOC) around the world.
1 E Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: V, VII)
Hundreds of breastfeeding studies are published every year. How do you determine if findings from a study should change your practice? This session will focus on what every clinician should know about interpreting research results. You will learn how to evaluate the quality of studies and determine whether they apply to your practice. We will discuss the question the study seeks to address, the quality of the design and methodology, and the application of the findings. Not all studies are created equal. Participants will learn to distinguish between studies that are well done and those that are weaker through plenty of real-world examples.
1 E Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: VII)
Physicians, nurses, midwives, birth workers, and lactation consultants are continuously providing care to others, and many of these give more than they receive. Doing so puts them at higher risk for compassion fatigue. There are research-based methods to assess, prevent, treat, and cope with compassion fatigue. This session will discuss compassion fatigue, professional burn-out, secondary trauma stress, and ways to take care of yourself in the process of caring for others.
1 E Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: V)
This presentation will review the pathophysiologic spectrum of inflammatory conditions affecting the lactating breast in the mastitis spectrum, including hyperlactation (“oversupply”), non-infectious and infectious mastitis, and abscess development in the setting of massage and untreated hyperlactation. It will also detail the identification and treatment of galactocele and lactational phlegmon. The goal is for lactation consultants to identify when these conditions may be presenting in a patient they are evaluating, and to understand when to refer patients to a medical provider for further intervention and care. Risk factors for these conditions will be reviewed and how LCs, within their scope of practice, can help prevent progression of complications (e.g. gentle lymphatic drainage and other supportive measures such as reducing excessive pumping).
The aim of marketing is to influence attitudes and behaviour. Marketing influences knowledge, attitudes and decisions related to infant and young child nutrition, safety, development, parental confidence, mothering and parenting. These attitudes and behaviours of parents, health workers, policy makers and other influencers, have short- and long-term effects on health and wellbeing of the child and of the mother. This presentation discusses if the point has been reached that health workers, mothers, and the general community consider a breast pump and other manufactured equipment necessary to breastfeed? Is the easy availability of equipment contributing to poor health care practices related to breastfeeding? If funding activities with breastfeeding equipment company money is any more acceptable than funding it with formula money? There is an International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. Is it time to have a Code of Marketing of Breastfeeding Substitutes?
1 E Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: V, VII)
Many families have had to flee their homes due to conflict, climate change or economic hardships. It is more and more likely we will meet families who are in need of practical and emotional support in their journey to safely feed their babies. How do we achieve this while looking after our own needs? Helping families in refugee camps can be overwhelming but at the same time very rewarding. In this talk we will discuss the importance of sound lactation and safe feeding information while meeting the emotional needs of all parties.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: V, VII)
We have seen an increasing number of traumatic births and difficulty feeding for parent-baby dyads. Lactation professionals often report that babies are restricted in their bodies, and have difficulty transferring milk, especially with the diagnosis of tongue tie. Professional trends support the need for bodywork for babies. This presentation will talk about the impact of difficulty prenatally, during and after birth for parent-baby dyads, and how that impacts breastfeeding. The layers of challenge for babies includes intrauterine restriction, cord issues, placenta location, birth trauma, and trauma after birth especially separation from the parent. Lactation and birthing professionals will be given a lens through which they can see the impact of trauma, recognize what is happening for the family, and what to do about it. Direction will be given for future training for professionals who which to deepen their skills to help families with birth and feeding trauma, as well as what to look for to refer families for bodywork.
1 L Cerp (IBLCE Content Outline: V, VII)
Diana West
Diana West has been an IBCLC in New Jersey (US) for over 20 years and is a retired La Leche League Leader. She has published many books, including Making More Milk, Sweet Sleep, the 8th edition of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, Breastfeeding after Breast and Nipple Procedures, Defining Your Own Success: Breastfeeding after Breast Reduction Surgery, and ILCA’s popular Clinician’s Breastfeeding Triage Tool. Diana has also co-authored a research article with a team led by Trevor MacDonald and the late Joy Noel-Weiss about trans men’s experiences with lactation and gender identity.
Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist, IBCLC and the owner and editor-in-chief of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is editor-in-chief of the journal, Psychological Trauma and was founding editor-in-chief of Clinical Lactation, a position she held for 11 years. She is Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Health and Trauma Psychology, past president of the APA Division of Trauma Psychology, and a member of APA’s Publications and Communications Board.
Renée Flacking
Renée Flacking is the director for the research centre Reproductive, Infant and Child Health (RICH) at the School of Health and Welfare, Dalarna University, Sweden. She is also a Visiting Professor at the Maternal and Infant Nutrition and Nurture Unit (MAINN), University of Central Lancashire, UK. Renée has a background as a Paediatric Nurse, having worked in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for more than 10 years. Renée’s main research interest is in the area of parenting and feeding in families with preterm infants focusing on emotional, relational and socio-cultural influences.
Elaine Burns
Elaine Burns is an associate professor of Midwifery and director of Higher Degree Research and Honours, at Western Sydney University. Elaine is an experienced midwifery clinician, educator and researcher. Her research is focussed on breastfeeding, midwifery practice/education and the experience of maternity care. Elaine’s work is multidisciplinary and collaborative and is recognised nationally and internationally with a robust publication track record of more than 50 peer reviewed publications, and 60 conference and seminar presentations. Elaine has been awarded multiple research grants to further investigate barriers to breastfeeding and is passionate about improving support during pregnancy, birth and the early transition to mothering.
Lisa Marasco
Lisa Marasco has been working with breastfeeding mothers for 35 years and has been an IBCLC since 1993. She holds a Master’s degree in Human Development with specialization in Lactation Consulting and was designated a Fellow of ILCA in 2009. Lisa is co-author of Making More Milk: The Breastfeeding Guide to Increasing Your Milk Production, a contributing author to the Core Curriculum for Interdisciplinary Lactation Care, and a new Cochrane Collaborative author. She is employed by WIC of Santa Barbara County while she continues to research, write and speak. In addition, Lisa is affiliated with La Leche League of Southern California/Nevada, and serves on the Breastfeeding Coalition of Santa Barbara County.
Laurel Wilson
Laurel is an author, international keynote speaker, and pregnancy and lactation specialist. She loves to blend today’s recent scientific findings with the mind/body/spirit wisdom. She owns MotherJourney, focusing on training perinatal professionals on integrative and holistic information regarding pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. Wilson is the co-author of two books - The Attachment Pregnancy and The Greatest Pregnancy Ever and contributing author to Round the Circle: Doulas Talk About Themselves. She served as the Executive Director of Lactation Programs for CAPPA for 16 years and now is on the Senior Advisor Board.
Shel Banks
Shel Banks is an UK-based IBCLC, specialising in the unsettled baby with symptoms of colic, reflux, allergy and faltering weight. She also works in the NHS as well as working and volunteering for various national and international organisations in the world of infant feeding and early parenting. She was involved in 3 x infant feeding-focussed NICE Guidelines - including NG75 on Faltering weight in Infants and Young Children. In addition, Shel is clinical director for the mobile app - Anya, working to support improved pregnancy, parenting and infant feeding outcomes for families everywhere. Shel is currently undertaking her doctoral study on supporting parents of unsettled babies with colic, reflux and allergy, through the Maternal and Infant Nutrition and Nurture (MAINN) Group at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), UK. She is the author of the book Why Formula Feeding Matters (2022).
Carol Smyth
Carol Smyth is an IBCLC and CBT psychotherapist working in Northern Ireland, and the author of Why Infant Reflux Matters. She has a special interest in reflux and unsettled babies, and in helping parents to understand the normal baby behaviours and communications which are often misunderstood as reflux or pain. Parents managing an unsettled baby are often understandably anxious about their little one, and she integrates mental health interventions into practical strategies to reduce reflux.
Shereen Abdelghani Soliman
Shereen is a paediatrician, neonatology consultant, trainer at the Egyptian Fellowship of Pediatrics, a nutrition specialist, and an IBCLC since 2008. She works in a private clinic in Egypt. An “IBCLC & ILCA Award Winner” for the year 2021, this is an award to the most effective lactation consultant in their community and worldwide supporting maternal and child health. Her book “The Ultimate Breastfeeding Study Guide” was released at January 2021, is a reference book for health professionals. She provides education for health professionals applying for the International Board Certificate Lactation Examiners (IBCLE) exam.
Carmela K Baeza
Dr. Carmela Baeza is a doctor who specializes in family and community medicine, an IBCLC since 2005 and a sexologist. She works in a private Family Wellness Clinic, Raices, Spain where she coordinates the lactation area, cares for mothers with difficulties in breastfeeding and is part of the teaching team. She is a speaker at breastfeeding and parenting conferences and events and a writer, publishing articles in parenting magazines. She is the author of the book Love with Open Arms.
Catherine Watson Genna
Catherine Watson Genna is an IBCLC in private practice in New York City, certified in 1992. She loves to teach, locally mentoring clinical interns and traveling to educate healthcare professionals around the world on assisting breastfeeding babies with anatomical, genetic or neurological problems. Catherine collaborates with Columbia University and Tel Aviv University Departments of Biomedical Engineering on research projects investigating the biomechanics of the lactating nipple and various aspects of sucking and swallowing in breastfeeding infants. She is the author of Selecting and Using Breastfeeding Tools: Improving Care and Outcomes and Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants as well as professional journal articles and chapters in the Core Curriculum for Lactation Consultant Practice and Breastfeeding and Human Lactation.
Leslie Southard
Leslie Southard is a board-certified ambulatory care pharmacist, certified lactation counsellor, labour and postpartum doula, and most importantly, a mom. She has been with her high school sweetheart for almost 20 years, and they have an amazing 5-year-old daughter, Carmenella, who is a cancer survivor. They also have two geriatric Jack Russell Terriers, Bob and Daisy, who are more work than the 5 year old. When Leslie is not working, you can find her reading romance novels, drinking coffee, and enjoying life to its fullest.
Miranda Clayton
Miranda Clayton is a registered osteopath in the UK with 25 years of experience in treating babies, children and pregnant and postpartum women. Her special interest is treatment during the first 6 months of life – most commonly in babies experiencing feeding problems and unsettled behaviours. In addition to private practice, she has performed many roles within osteopathic education in the UK and worldwide. She currently lectures extensively in paediatric, & obstetric osteopathy for several university programs and runs post graduate training courses with her company ‘Mum&BabyCPD’. More recently she has produced a range of training videos and webinars on various aspects of osteopathic treatment in early life.
Tameka Jackson-Dyer
Tameka Jackson-Dyer is an IBCLC and community health worker whose passion is community outreach. She has been honing her counselling and clinical skills in WIC agencies, OB/Gyn offices and Baby Friendly hospitals throughout the metro Detroit area for almost 20 years. Her work with of Coffective and the EMU Center for Health Disparities, Innovations & Studies allows her to provide a voice for the populations who are historically underrepresented in conversations about breastfeeding support. She owns a private practice, Crazymilklady Lactation Support Services, LLC, serves as Chair of the Metro Detroit/ Wayne County Breastfeeding Coalition, is a co-founder of the Southeast Michigan IBCLC’s of Color (SEMI) and volunteers as a Sisterfriend mentor with the Detroit Birthing Project.
Sarah Oakley
Sarah has a busy private practice based in Cambridgeshire, UK. She is a founder member and former Chair of The Association of Tongue-tie Practitioners in the UK and has written a book ‘Why Tongue-tie Matters’. She has spoken at national and international online conferences on various issues related to tongue-tie. She provides lots of training for healthcare professionals, breastfeeding supporters and maternity workers in the UK and has an online training course in tongue-tie and infant feeding.
Kathy Parkes
Kathy Parkes is a registered nurse, IBCLC, and Fellow of the International Lactation Consultant Association (FILCA). She has over 30 years of experience in lactation management and education in multiple lactation settings, including the hospital, private practice, education, home health care, and in the US-based Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program. She has been actively involved with breastfeeding coalitions at the local, state, and international levels. She is the author of the book - Perspectives in Lactation: Is Private Practice for Me? As a Certified Compassion Fatigue Educator, Kathy heads the Perinatal Loss Program at her hospital, and leads a Griefshare program in the community.
Gillian Opie
Dr Gillian Opie is a full-time neonatal paediatrician at the Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg, Victoria and IBCLC for over 20 years. In 2011 she was instrumental in establishing the Mercy Health Breastmilk Bank. Gillian has an active interest in clinical research. She is a member of the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study group, regularly contributes to lactation consultant education and is an editorial board member of the International Breastfeeding Journal.
Gina Weissman
Dr Gina Weissman began her career as a dentist and is also an IBCLC (since 1999) and a registered nurse. An accomplished international lecturer with over 20 years of experience, she teaches courses in human lactation for both medical professionals and future lactation consultants. Dr. Weissman is the director and owner of HalavM Breastfeeding clinic and Lactation Consultant Education Center for professionals, where she offers breastfeeding consulting and tongue-tie release. She is the author of Mother’s Milk, a Video Guide to Breastfeeding. Dr Weissman is a Fellow member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and the president of the Israeli Association of Certified Lactation Consultants.
Genevieve Becker
Dr Genevieve Becker is a dietitian and IBCLC who has worked in maternal, infant and young child feeding for over 35 years. Her business BEST Services provides consultancy services related to breastfeeding education, support, and training. Contracts have included the coordination of the BFHI in Ireland, and most recently a systematic review of four decades of research on marketing of products covered by the International Code. Genevieve was a volunteer counsellor with a mother-to-mother support group for 20 years and served on the Board of Directors of the International Lactation Consultant Association.
Janette Timmermans
Janette is IBCLC of 15 years and was a breastfeeding counsellor with the Australian Breastfeeding Association before relocating to the Netherlands in 2017. Her experience covers supporting mothers with newborns in NICU to families with older babies in community settings. In 2016 she worked in a refugee camp in Greece supporting mothers with babies. She has a busy private practice and works in two tongue tie clinics in the province of Noord Brabant in the Netherlands.
Kate White
Kate White is an award-winning prenatal and perinatal educator and an advanced bodyworker. She is trained in somatic therapies, prenatal and perinatal health, lactation, brain development, infant mental health, and has specialized in mother-baby dyad care using somatic prevention and trauma healing approaches for over 20 years. She is a mother of two children, holds a BA and MA in communication, a registered craniosacral therapist in the biodynamic craniosacral method and a Somatic Experiencing® practitioner. Her work combines somatic therapy, birth preparation, recovery from difficult birth, breastfeeding support, trauma prevention and resolution and brain development to help give families with babies and small children the best possible start. She currently runs a private practice and offers seminars and training as the Founder and Director for the Center for Prenatal and Perinatal Programs.
Katrina B. Mitchell
Katrina B. Mitchell is a breast surgeon, lactation consultant, and perinatal mental health provider. She runs a daily lactation clinic alongside her surgical practice at Ridley Tree Cancer Center at Sansum clinic in Santa Barbara, California. She speaks regularly on the intersection of lactation and surgery, and has authored book chapters, clinical care protocols, and journal articles on the topic. She is the creator of the physicianguidetobreastfeeding.org, an evidence-based resource for breastfeeding families and the communities that support them.
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