Lactation & Breastfeeding Online Course(s) & Continuing Education
Access the latest clinical skills and research for Lactation & Breastfeeding for professional training. These Lactation & Breastfeeding online courses provide practice-changing skills and valuable perspectives from leading global experts. This Lactation & Breastfeeding education has been accredited for a variety of CEUs / CERPs and can be accessed on-demand, at your own pace.
Talking to Babies: Basic Communication Skills for Lactating Parents and Healthcare Specialists
Dr. Smaranda Nay is a Family Doctor, an IBCLC, a Personal Development Counselor and a mother. She has been studying Transactional Analysis psychotherapy since 2007 and is now in her second year of training to become a Somatic Experience therapist. She uses her knowledge to teach parents how to connect with their children and how to attune to their babies’ needs, both through individual counselling sessions and in classes. She is part of the Romanian Lactation Consultants Association and holds lactation education courses for future IBCLCs. She gives lactation counselling consults and holds breastfeeding and childcare courses.
She also holds personal development workshops for teenagers and adults, collaborating with non-formal education organizations and schools. She is particularly curious about the development of an attuned relationship between people and building intimacy and trust. Working with babies, she observes the parent-child connection and explores its potential in healing and growth, and how it impacts the future development of the individual. Working with teenagers and adults, she facilitates ways in which childhood disruptions can be healed in the present.
This is a presentation on how explaining things to babies of all ages, including newborns, can help solve difficult moments during lactation in the parent-baby relationship and lead to healthy parenting. Communication blocks happen frequently due to changes, events, and anxiety, and sometimes they can interfere with breastfeeding/chestfeeding. At least some of these blocks can be solved by communicating with the baby in an open, compassionate, and respectful way.
Lactation and healthcare professionals will learn how to approach such situations, what questions to ask and what suggestions to make to parents so they and their babies can overcome the situation. Lactation and healthcare professionals will also learn about different cases that I have encountered, how the method was applied and what were the results.
I deeply believe that the way we talk to babies, communicate with them and how we teach parents to do that is an essential part of our work. On the long term, it can make an important difference to how those babies are treated, respected, parented, educated, and raised and what kind of adults they will become.
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Sejal is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in private practice and an infant massage educator in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA. She combines her professional expertise with her personal instincts as a mother and a supportive team member.
She holds a Bachelors in Microbiology and Clinical Laboratory Science.
She also brings with her the following comprehensive toolkit: Certified Educator of Infant Massage, Formerly Certified in skin-to-skin care for full term infants from the United States Institute of Kangaroo Care Certified Provider of Innate Postpartum Care.
She has presented nationally and internationally for GOLD lactation, ILCA, community colleges, local lactation organizations.
As a lactation consultant, she believes that every individual needs to be educated about breast health, optimal infant feeding and how breastfeeding support is a basic human right and can impact world health globally.
She strives to help each family by continuing to learn all she can about breast health, breastfeeding ecology, breastfeeding movement and parent-infant connection using the neurobiological and infant mental health lens.
When she’s not with her clients, you can find her at home in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA, listening to bollywood music, hanging out with friends and spending time with her family.
Topic: Calm & Regulated: Rethinking Our Approach to Latch and Positioning - [View Abstract]
Topic: Teaching Infant Facial Massage to Parents to Support a Functional Latch - [View Abstract]
Background: The benefits of massage have been shown in many research studies. Massage relieves stress, pain and muscle tension. We expect to show that the same benefits can be achieved when facial massage is used to optimize a baby’s oral structures to support a functional latch.
Method: We hope to use facial massage as a tool for babies that do not have an optimal latch. Babies born with gestational constraints, traumatic birth, exposure to stress during pregnancy or babies with tethered oral tissues may benefit from a parent massaging their face. Attendees will have access to handouts and a video link and may use their own face to practice the facial massage strokes.
Results: Building strength by oral and facial muscles, relaxing tension in the jaw, the lips, the muscles around the lips, and muscles of facial expression may help optimize the latch and hence prevent nipple damage.
Conclusion: IBCLCs can have an extra tool in their toolkit to offer to new parents. Facial massage techniques to support a functional latch can increase a parent’s confidence in caring for their baby, while increasing the levels of oxytocin and thereby promoting parent-infant bond
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Nancy has been providing breastfeeding help and support for 40 years and has been a national speaker for 30. She has been a perinatal educator and consultant since the late 1970’s. Her second career is that of a Marriage and Family Therapist. Her passion is to explore the larger picture of the mother-baby dyad in the context of the breastfeeding relationship.
Topic: Teens and Breastfeeding - [View Abstract]
Current information on working with teen mothers includes issues such as body art, nutrition, grandmothers, and adolescent brain development. Strategies for connecting with and teaching these mothers will be addressed.
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The Art of Therapeutic Breast Massage in Supporting Breastfeeding
Maya Bolman was born and raised in Minsk, Belarus. She was certified as IBCLC in 2001 and currently works as a lactation consultant at Senders Pediatrics and Breastfeeding Medicine of Northeast Ohio.
Maya is well known internationally for her work promoting hand expression and breast massage to health professionals and parents. She recognizes that teaching these basic tools helps empower them to work through breastfeeding challenges including engorgement, plugged ducts, separation from the infant, and milk supply concerns.
She has worked with Dr. Ann Witt to create an instructional video “The Basics of Breast Massage and Hand Expression” and conducts research on the effectiveness of Therapeutic Breast Massage in Lactation (TBML) both in the office and as a treatment at home for mothers.
Breast pain is one of the major causes of weaning. The likelihood of weaning increases the longer pain persists. Engorgement, plugged ducts, and mastitis are commonly associated with acute breast pain. Description of desired/achievable state: Therapeutic Breast Massage in Lactation (TBML) is one of the important measures to resolve pain quickly.
Shondra Mattos is an IBCLC, Entrepreneur & Speaker who delivers progressive, up-to-date lectures that challenge the current standard of Lactation Care. She is widely regarded as the go-to source for those looking for clear, understandable clinical knowledge.
In 2018, Shondra rebranded her lactation practice Mattos Lactation and provided location-independent lactation support to families across the country. In 2020 she founded Lactnerd LLC with the focus of helping healthcare providers gain knowledge while conquering the intimidation of learning the complex science of Lactation.
Through her companies- Lactnerd & Mattos Lactation - she provides tools, resources, education & mentoring to aspiring and established lactation professionals across the USA.
This presentation will cover skills & strategies of conducting assessments of oral dysfunction in a telehealth setting, a situation many Lactation providers were thrusted into due to Covid-19. Through real life examples of processes & strategies I use in my location-independent practice which specializes in oral dysfunction, the learner will gain practical insight to improve the quality of the virtual lactation visits they provide.
Wendy is a breast biologist at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Her research explores the biology of how the breast develops and functions to better understand how disease states occur, including lactation mastitis and breast cancer.
After postdoctoral research as an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellow at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, USA, Wendy returned to Adelaide in 2005 and established the Breast Biology and Cancer Unit at the University of Adelaide. In 2011 she was appointed a National Breast Cancer Foundation Fellow and also The Hospital Research Foundation Associate Professor of Breast Cancer Research, which is her current appointment.
In 2016 Wendy won the Award for Excellence in Reproductive Biology Research from the Society for Reproductive Biology. Wendy’s research challenges old paradigms and explores new concepts in how the breast develops and functions to improve breast health across the life course.
The mammary gland is a unique tissue, common to all mammals, that undergoes the majority of development postnatally, particularly during puberty and pregnancy. During pregnancy, the mammary gland acquires the ability to make and secrete copious amounts of milk to provide essential nutrients and immunological protection to the newborn. The biological mechanisms that lead to milk synthesis and secretion are finely orchestrated as the composition, abundance and timing must meet the unique and specific needs of each mother-baby pair during this critical phase of infant development. This lecture will encompass the developmental mechanisms that enable the mammary gland to undergo lactation, the composition and secretion of breast milk, and a comparative analysis of the mammary gland between human and other mammalian species to better appreciate the remarkable functions of this unique tissue.
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Katrina B. Mitchell, MD is a board-certified general surgeon, fellowship-trained breast surgical oncologist, and international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) whose practice includes the care and surgery of women with breast cancer and benign breast disease. She also treats maternal complications of lactation, and has a special interest in pregnancy and postpartum breast cancer. She resides in Santa Barbara, California and practices at the Ridley Tree Cancer Center at Sansum Clinic. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her son at the beach. More information about her clinical and educational interests is available at katrinamitchell.org.
This lecture reviews nipple and breast pain during pregnancy and both the early and late postpartum periods. It describes the anatomy and physiology of the breast and nipple areolar complex, and explores why pain during pregnancy and lactation is so common. Specific topics include the relationship between engorgement and infant latch; pump and other nipple trauma; hypo- and hyperlactation and how pain presents in these populations; vasospasm; dermatitis; nipple blebs; and, mastitis and plugging. The lecture also covers infant considerations and defines the lack of evidence for fungal infections as a significant contributor to pain. It delineates identification and treatment of functional pain and overlap of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders with pain.
The Critical Need for Inclusive Language and Inclusive Care for the LGBTQ+ Chestfeeding/Bodyfeeding Community
Stephanie Wagner, "Steph", is a Registered Nurse of 20 years, her first 13 years working Labor & Delivery in various hospitals in Virginia, California, and New York, working as a Travel Nurse for many years. Steph graduated from James Madison University in Virginia in 2001 with her BSN. She became a Certified Lactation Educator in 2012 and an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant in 2014. After working in the hospital setting for 18 years, she now works solely as a Lactation Consultant in Private Practice. Her Private Practice, EverLatching Love, started in 2015 in NYC. EverLatching Love provides Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding/Bodyfeeding support and education by way of home visits and virtual consultations. Steph is the current Treasurer of the New York Lactation Consultant Association (NYLCA) and a member of the United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA) as well as the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA). She has been featured in Romper.com, nymag.com, the Strategist, TLC the TV network, and other media outlets such as the Breastfeeding Outside the Box podcast series. She teaches part time for Evergreen Perinatal Education, proudly educating new lactation professionals entering our field. She speaks at conferences and to groups across the Country on best practice when working with LGBTQ+ families who may use the language and action of Chestfeeding or Bodyfeeding their babies. Making sure healthcare is always aware of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for all persons is a pilar of Steph’s work. Steph is a proud Certified OutCare Healthcare Professional as of March 2020 and is very proud to be featured on OutCare Health’s OutList of Medical Professionals. She was privileged to speak at the New York Coming Out Conference, the first ever International Transgender Conference in NYC, in October 2019. The conference had a big emphasis on healthcare and Steph presented on Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding/Bodyfeeding to the Transgender and Non-Binary community in attendance. She is constantly learning about Queer culture and advances in human lactation, and she works hard to find the best ways to intersect them for inclusive care.
This presentation will provide the learner with further knowledge about the current needs of the LGBTQ+ community in the context of healthcare, and particularly as it pertains to breastfeeding/chestfeeding/bodyfeeding for all families who desire to feed their infant/child in this way. Participants of this education will learn about some history of the LGBTQ+ community within healthcare, appropriate inclusive language and its critical relevance within the LGBTQ+ community, and will learn about tools and resources available to feel more confident when taking care of a family or a parent who identifies as a LGBTQ+ human.
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The Crying Curve and the Impact on Postpartum and Breastfeeding
A love for babies fueled Kimberly's 20+ year career serving families in the postpartum time frame. With a passion for nurturing new parents, she trains doulas and educators with CAPPA to support and educate for a strong beginning of bonding and connection. She loves teaching expectant families to have a smooth transition to new baby life through the Providence Healthcare System in Portland, OR. She began as a postpartum doula, then quickly added breastfeeding and new parent classes to help parents from the very beginning, and then became an IBCLC to meet their bigger challenges. She owns ABC Doula & Newborn Care in Portland, OR, is the mother of 2 grown kids, and resides in Phoenix near her parents. Like many other baby whisperers, Kimberly has honed skills for listening and responding to babies that parents can quickly learn to understand and interpret their tiny humans. When she sees parents struggling, and especially with the most fussy of babies, her heart hopes that all parents could be given the tools to compassionately support their little ones, and learn how to meet their needs, which creates more confidence in themselves in their new roles as well.
Topic: Understanding Infant Crying - [View Abstract]
The Crying Curve is an evidence-based pattern of crying that begins at about 42 weeks of gestation (2 weeks of extrauterine life), peaks at 6-8 weeks of age, and sharply declines by 12-15 weeks. As many as 15 different studies have concluded that this pattern is common across infants of all cultures, gestational ages (based on a 40-week gestation), and parenting styles—and the applications are many in the early parenting world. How can parents use this pattern to help them navigate breastfeeding? How can they gather their support people, family or village to maximize positive relationships and get the support they crave? How can they utilize it to help assess their newborn and understand what is needed for their specific situation? How much crying is too much crying? Lactation consultants, postpartum doulas, and other postpartum professionals who possess this information are well positioned to help to educate parents on how to best approach their postpartum recovery period, as well as navigate the ups and downs of breastfeeding and early newborn sleep. This session will aim to explain and apply the Crying Curve in multiple ways to support and guide the newborn family.
The Effects of Stress On The Mother-Baby Dyad
Elissa is a passionate osteopath, business owner and mentor.
Elissa has worked as an Osteopath in private practice in Melbourne since graduating in 1998.
She started her own multidisciplinary clinic in 2002, combining osteopathy with, massage, naturopathy, kinesiology and counselling. In 2015 Elissa merged her business with a local podiatrist and started The Balwyn Health Hub.
She is well known for her treatment of children and pregnant women although her patient base also includes a strong focus for; the family unit, the elderly, performers, athletes and the chronically ill. Her special interest in osteopathic diagnostic reasoning often helps patients understand why chronic dysfunctions are not healing.
Elissa's passion for working with pregnant women, babies and children allows close professional relationships with lactation consultants, midwives and doulas which has led to her guest lecturing at a number of multidisciplinary conferences.
The stresses faced by each new mother will reflect her unique experience of conception, pregnancy and birth and these stresses can significantly influence the mother-baby bond. Even the most well researched birth plan can be subject to variations and complications that will inevitably put additional stress on the mother. Difficulty breastfeeding is often one of the first signs of stress on the mother-baby unit; it’s success or failure can drastically influence the early bonds made between the dyad. The neuroendocrine system has many ways of responding to these stresses and knowledgable manual therapists have an opportunity to support both the mother and baby towards optimal physiology.
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