GOLD Lactation Alumni Presentations 2018

It is recognised that women can experience feelings of guilt, unhappiness and anger when they cannot meet their breastfeeding goals. Breastfeeding difficulties leading to early cessation are a risk factor for postnatal depression. However, research has not previously examined these feelings of loss and distress in relation to clinical models of trauma.

From a research study exploring the experiences of over 3000 women who stopped breastfeeding before they were ready and held negative emotions around this decision, I argue that a subset of these women are displaying symptoms of clinical trauma in relation to their experience. The trauma stems from physical experiences of a difficult breastfeeding experience, but also the loss of a much-desired breastfeeding relationship. The combination of these events leaves the individual traumatised and understandably reactive to the topic of breastfeeding.

Trauma models identify numerous emotions and behaviours that individuals typically display when they have been traumatised by an event. These include recurrent distressing recollections of the events, intense psychological distress at exposure to reminders of the event and efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings or activities that remind one of the event.

Interoception is a term used to describe our nervous system's awareness of the sensations from the gastrointestinal and visceral system, as well as the primary sensory part/input to baby's Autonomic Nervous System. ANS function and regulation underlay all automatic processes of the body, from heart beat to breastfeeding and digestion function, as well as maintaining a calm state in order to engage in social interaction or to transition easily in and out of sleep. More simply put, interoception is "feelings from the body". In addition to visceral information, interoceptive pathways carry information related to affective touch, itch, temperature and pain and are delivered to a separate area of the brain, the insular cortex, which also contains a map of the body, similar to the well known homunculus. Interception plays a large role in dynamic equilibrium and autonomic regulation of tissues of the body. Interoceptive information and the processing is the basis of all important activity to optimize energy utilization. This system is often compromised in babies who present with complex oral dysfunction, tethered oral tissues, postural asymmetries, fussiness, gas, reflux or other dysregulation in function. How babies feel is mirrored in how they function, compromised function equals compromised interoceptive processing. This talk covers the basics of this system and practical clinical applications for precrawling babies to optimize neurodevelopment and breastfeeding abilities.

For more than a decade most lactation professions have been suggesting to families that diet matters very little in terms of breastmilk composition. We have told parents that they can essentially eat whatever they want, it does not matter to the bottom line. However, new studies imply that in fact, diet does matter in terms of the composition of fatty acids and essential nutrients available in milk that can potentially impact life long health. Studies also show that changes in diet can lead to gene methylation which impacts gene expression, as well changing the oligosaccharide profile which shapes the microbiome. This presentation takes you on a tour of some recent research finds to better understand how maternal diet (potentially prenatally through lactation) DOES play a role in breastmilk and how a parent’s diet can potentially influence a breastfeeding baby’s health.