Breastfeeding & Maternal Nutrition Online Course(s) & Continuing Education
Access the latest clinical skills and research for Breastfeeding & Maternal Nutrition for Lactation & Breastfeeding professional training. These Breastfeeding & Maternal Nutrition online courses provide practice-changing skills and valuable perspectives from leading global experts. This Breastfeeding & Maternal Nutrition education has been accredited for a variety of CEUs / CERPs and can be accessed on-demand, at your own pace.
A Dairy-free Mediterranean Diet and the Impact on Colic and Allergy in Infants Receiving Human Milk
Joanna Nawfal is a board-certified lactation consultant, a childbirth educator, a hypnobirthing instructor, and a certified baby massage instructor, with 15 years of experience in the field of maternal child health and a Masters of Science in Nursing.
Joanna is passionate about helping mothers and babies in their breastfeeding journey, and was inspired to start this path after having difficulties 10 years ago, breastfeeding her first child, Adam.
She loves teaching expecting parents about the beauty of birth, normal newborn behavior, and is exceptionally passionate about nutrition for mothers as she believes that we can always find cure in food.
Joanna enjoys doing home visits and clinic consultations for breastfeeding. She also offers birth preparation classes in her country, Lebanon, where she lives with her husband and two children. Her favorite activity is getting lost in Lebanon’s bountiful nature where the mountains and the sea are in close proximity. To Joanna, Lebanon, is the most beautiful country in the world.
Colic and allergy symptoms are problems commonly encountered in newborns exclusively receiving human milk, and are thought to be triggered by inflammatory responses in the gut. Maternal diet, especially cow’s milk intake, has been associated with infantile colic and allergies, but no previous studies have examined the effect of a Mediterranean diet. Thus, this new research aims to investigate whether maternal adherence to a dairy-free Mediterranean diet, known for its anti-inflammatory properties, reduces colic and allergy symptoms in infants exclusively fed human milk. This presentation will discuss the methodology of this recent study and present the results of the Mediterranean diet on allergy symptoms and average daily crying of infants.
View Details / Enroll
Hold the Phone! Diet Does Matter During Breastfeeding: Implication of Diet on Fatty Acid Composition and Other Nutrients
Laurel Wilson, IBCLC, CLE, CCCE, CLD is a TEDx and international speaker, author, pregnancy and lactation expert, and consultant. She served as the Executive Director of Lactation Programs for CAPPA, the Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association for 16 years and now is on the Senior Advisor Board. She served on the Board of Directors for the United States Breastfeeding Committee from 2016-2019. She also is on the Advisory Board for InJoy Health. She owns MotherJourney, focusing on training perinatal professionals on integrative and holistic information regarding pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. She has her degree in Maternal Child Health: Lactation Consulting and is an internationally board certified lactation consultant. As the co-author of two books, The Attachment Pregnancy and The Greatest Pregnancy Ever, original Editor of the CAPPA Lactation Educator Manual, and contributing author to Round the Circle: Doulas Talk About Themselves, she loves to blend today’s recent scientific findings with the mind/body/spirit wisdom. Laurel has been joyfully married to her husband for nearly three decades and has two wonderful grown sons, whose difficult births led her on a path towards helping emerging families create positive experiences. She believes that the journey into parenthood is a life-changing rite of passage that should be deeply honored and celebrated.
Topic: Epigenetics and Breastfeeding: The Potential Longterm Impact of Breastmilk - [View Abstract]
Topic: Hold the Phone! Diet Does Matter During Breastfeeding: Implication of Diet on Fatty Acid Composition and Other Nutrients - [View Abstract]
Topic: Postpartum Mood Disorders, Breastfeeding and the Epigenetic Links from Past Into Future - [View Abstract]
Topic: Talk To Me: How Breastmilk Acts as a Communication and Gene Expression Tool Between Mother and Child - [View Abstract]
Topic: The Milk Sharing Conundrum - The Grey Area Between Scope and Need - [View Abstract]
Topic: The Placenta and Breastmilk-Unraveling the Mysterious World of the Intelligent Organs that Protect our Babies - [View Abstract]
Topic: Understanding Zika and Lyme and Breastfeeding - [View Abstract]
Topic: Unraveling the Mysteries of Human Milk: The Fascinating Role of Neohormones, Epigenetics, the Microbiome and More! - [View Abstract]
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.
View Details / Enroll
Milk Composition and Maternal Nutrition: Understanding the Impact and Outcomes
Rosa Sorribas is an IBCLC in private practice in Barcelona since 2008. She is a Computer Engineer working on Internet and databases since 1986. In 2002, after her first daughter was born, she and her husband created CrianzaNatural.com, a Spanish portal and forum with information for an attachment parenting style of life. Since then, she's been involved in breastfeeding groups, such as La Leche League and Areola, which she still collaborates with. She offers breastfeeding and babywearing education in Spain, Portugal, Poland, and online. She's been working as doula in home and hospital births. Her website has been the source of dozens of support groups, many breastfeeding conselours and IBCLCs, and has helped hundreds of thousands of families around the world to get their maternity goals. For the last few years she's been very focused in nutrition after a cancer treatment left some issues on her health. She is now running a weekly podcast and video interview to relevant people addressing topics from conception to teens. In February she will launch a training course to become IBCLC, with the help of several new and experienced IBCLCs that she's been mentoring, in a site called ecrianza.com. She lives near the beach of Castelldefels with her two daughters who were homeschooled for 6 years, her lovely husband and her dog Timi.
As opposed to being considered the optimal way to feed a baby, breastfeeding should instead be considered the norm. Human milk is the most appropriate food for all babies, even if the mother is experiencing health issues or challenging life conditions. Human milk, despite maternal conditions, is the best source of food for children. Lifestyle, maternal diet, environmental exposures, and stress, among other factors, can impact health outcomes. This leads to the question of whether these factors can also affect human milk composition. Can babies become nutritionally deficient from the composition of their mother’s milk? What is deficiency? How are those thresholds calculated? This presentation will shed light on this subject, which is undergoing a tremendous amount of new research.
View Details / Enroll
Popular Diet Trends: Impact and Safety During Lactation
Meghan McMillin holds a Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and Board Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition (CSP). To further her education and passion for lactation, Meghan obtained the credential of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2019. A passion for maternal and child health, Meghan previously worked in a local, level three NICU, where she served as the first and only dietitian on their breastfeeding resource team. In 2018, Meghan pursued her passion further and created Mama & Sweet Pea Nutrition, a private practice and consulting company that focuses on prenatal and postpartum nutrition, and lactation. Her goal is to empower women with the knowledge and confidence they need to nourish themselves and their babies. Meghan is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the International Lactation Consultant Association and serves as executive board secretary for Breastfeed Chicago, a local non-profit. Meghan is a freelance writer and public speaker and enjoys sharing her knowledge through blogging and social media. She speaks regularly on the local and national level, has presented at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Food & Nutrition Conference in 2018. She has been featured in numerous publications including Healthline, PopSugar, and the RD Lounge. Meghan is the coauthor of the eBook Avoiding Allergens While Breastfeeding; Nutrition guidance for women trying to avoid milk, soy, and/or eggs while breastfeeding.
Diet culture is pervasive and it seems everyday brings about a new popular trend or style in how, when, or what to eat. The postpartum period often brings about an incredible amount of pressure to lose weight or “bounce back” to pre-pregnancy body shape. It’s no wonder many turn to popular diet trends with the promises of quick weight loss. However, with a lack of research in the lactating population, there remains concern regarding both the effect these diets may have on milk supply and their safety. This presentation will provide lactation professionals with the information they need to have informative discussions with their clients about popular diet trends.
View Details / Enroll
