Lactation & Breastfeeding Online Course(s) & Continuing Education

Amy Barron Smolinski holds an MA from Union Institute and University, where her thesis explored re-emerging Sacred Feminine manifestations in the lives of contemporary women. She is the Executive Director of Mom2Mom Global, a network of breastfeeding peer support, education, and advocacy for military families. She works with breastfeeding dyads in a variety of settings, from inpatient postpartum and NICU to home visits, telephone, and online consulting as an Advanced Lactation Consultant and Certified Lactation Counselor. Supporting breastfeeding families has shown her how each parent’s breastfeeding journey with each of her children is a reclamation of her connection to her inner wisdom and power. Amy is an actress, director, and professional voice artist in Germany, where she resides with her husband and four sons, all of whom breastfed to self-weaning.

Carol has been a therapeutic bodyworker in Portland, Oregon for over 26 years. She is a retired home birth midwife. She specializes in infant and maternal Craniosacral Therapy.
Carol is convinced that if women are appropriately supported in growing, birthing and nurturing their babies, their lives will improve. When women's lives improve their children's health improves. Healthy children grow up to be healthier adults who create healthier communities and a saner, more peaceful world. Carol believes that when things are out of balance even the smallest intervention can bring about great healing. Our need for it is so great. Carol is passionate about using her CST skills to gently make space in maternal bodies so babies can assume ideal positions for gestation and birth. She is currently developing specialized prenatal yoga classes to support and enhance the maternal bodywork techniques she practices and teaches.

Annette Leary is a registered nurse with over 33 years of experience working in Maternal Child Health (pediatrics, postpartum, home health care and level 2 NICU). She became an IBCLC in 1995. She owns a private practice providing office, in home, and virtual visits at Orlando Lactation and Wellness. In 2022 she formed a collaborative company Baby B.L.I.S.S. : Central Florida Feeding Collaborative where she and her business partners help families prenatally, antepartum and post partum navigate the growth, development and feeding journey of their children. She began her craniosacral therapy training through the Upledger Institute in 2015, taking advanced maternal and pediatric specialty classes. Annette has found great improvement incorporating craniosacral therapy techniques with lactation consulting. Helping Families Latch onto Parenting has always been her mantra.

Nikki started as an LPN in 1971, got her RN and BSN, and a graduate degree. She is an author, a teacher, a holistic lactation consultant, a craniosacral therapy practitioner, and a baby body worker (teaching Infant Massage and TummyTime! She is mother to 2 wonderful (breastfed for a long time) daughters, wife to 3 interesting men, only one of whom was the right one for the past 37 years, Rafe!

Her publications include the books, Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Breastfeeding Therapy and A Breastfeeding Owner’s Manual; the monographs, “Benefits of Breastfeeding and Their Economic Impact” and “Sexuality and Breastfeeding” and the educational pamphlet “How to help yourself through labor”. She has been the reviews editor for the journal Clinical Lactation, and has worked as the lactation consultant for the division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health since 2006.

Anna Le Grange is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Registered Pediatric Nurse, Mindfulness teacher and Author. She has worked with new families for over 20 years in a variety of clinical roles. Anna brings her passion for psychology, neuroscience and mindfulness into her lactation support work and facilitates other professionals to incorporate emotional well-being tools into their own lactation practice. Mother to 3 children, Anna breastfed her 3rd child following breast reduction surgery and experienced first-hand, the emotional challenges that so often relate to infant feeding complexities. She used her personal experiences alongside mindfulness and lactation knowledge, to create a toolbox of techniques for breastfeeding families, which she includes in her courses and book, The Mindful Breastfeeding Book. Anna believes whole-heartedly in prioritizing calm and connection within our breastfeeding support practices, both for our clients and ourselves. Anna is currently studying for a MSc in Positive Psychology at Buckingham New University and has spoken at various events including the Gold Lactation, ILactation Conference and Nurturing The Future.

After a career as a primary school teacher and Deputy Headteacher in central London, Emma trained with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, qualifying as a breastfeeding counsellor with them in 2007 and continuing with them as their trustee and chair. Emma first qualified as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2011. She has supported families at groups in North London for 14 years as a volunteer and has a small private practice. Her book, “You’ve Got It In You: a positive guide to breastfeeding” was followed by “The Breast Book: a puberty guide with a difference – it’s the when, why and how of breasts” (published by Pinter and Martin). Her articles have been featured in print and online including on the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative website. Her article, 'The dangerous obsession with the infant feeding interval' is her most popular. She has two children and lives in London.

Educator with the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA). She has a particular interest in breastfeeding and Down syndrome after her son was born with Down syndrome in 2014. Her journey of breastfeeding her son included a long inpatient hospitalization stay due to his treatment for cancer. She has worked in disability services for over 20 years including community learning disability nursing in the UK, supporting GPs to manage the heath needs of people with complex health conditions and intellectual disability, medical undergraduate education in intellectual disability and currently works in general practice as a Practice Disability Nurse. Heather facilitates Breastfeeding Education Classes to expectant parents, is a Trainer & Assessor in ABA’s training team and provides guidance and contributes to publications on breastfeeding a baby with Down syndrome.

Fiona Woollard is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton.  She works in the Philosophy of Pregnancy, Birth and Early Motherhood, with a special interest in infant feeding.  She argues that identifying philosophical mistakes in the way we think about maternal behaviour can help improve conversations about infant feeding decisions.  Her work has been widely published in journals aimed at philosophers, medical professionals and peer supporters, and in venues aimed at a general audience.  To read more about her work on infant feeding, see https://fionawoollard.weebly.com/infant-feeding.html

Sally is an IBCLC in Leicester, UK, and has been supporting families there, particularly families from BME communities, for 15 years. Her interest in multi-culturalism and diversity has grown, from teaching French in a large community college, to her current role leading Leicester Mammas CIC, a city-wide community breastfeeding peer support programme developed and delivered by and for local mothers. She has previously been a La Leche League leader, and was part of the pioneering LLL Peer Counsellor Programme team, under the leadership of Sarah Gill, who brought the LLLPCP from the US to the UK. A core element of her approach to protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding is its role in the wider society: mitigating poverty, health inequalities and social isolation, and creating strong communities of women from all walks of life. She is has recently completed an MA in Integrated Provision for Families in Early Years. Sally is Deputy Chair of LCGB (Lactation Consultants of Great Britain).