Indira has been involved in birth and breastfeeding support for the past 15 years. As a clinician IBCLC, she leads the Specialist Breastfeeding Clinic which is part of the Merton Health Visiting team (Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust). This Clinic is for complex breastfeeding dyads and by GP/HV/RM referral only. Indira has been awarded the National Institute for Health Research Fellowship (2021-2022) as part of the ARC NWL Improvement Leadership programme. Her project examines how to offer more skilled breastfeeding and lactation care in the NHS nationally. As an Educator and the lead Lecturer of the Breastfeeding London Course, she has been training future IBCLCs for the past 10 years. Indira's roles as Clinician and Educator have led her to the path of research. As the Director of the Centre for Breastfeeding Education and Research, she has published several articles in leading international peer-reviewed breastfeeding and human lactation journals. She has also served La Leche League Great Britain for the past 13 consecutive years.
Craniofacial anomalies (CFA) are a common anatomical malformation that affects the craniofacial region; they present either as cleft lip (CL), cleft palate (CP), or cleft lip and palate (CL/P) with varying degrees of severity. The incidence depends on the population’s ethnicity and geography. Infants with CFA can experience feeding difficulties either at the breast or at the bottle because they can have issues with their suck, swallow, breathe sequence and milk transfer.
This presentation will provide an overview of the anatomy of CFA. Techniques on how best to support families with CFA infants who wish either to breastfeed, maintain lactation or transition towards breastfeeding post-surgery will be discussed. Health care professionals involved in the care sometimes lack the expertise of supporting breastfeeding and often only recommend maternal pumping and specialised bottles. There is limited research about feeding infants with CL/P directly at the breast.
A clinical case will be presented to illustrate clinical techniques and sequence of care.
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