GOLD Learning Speakers
Carol Smyth, IBCLC, MBACP, BABCP
- Speaker Type: GOLD Lactation 2023, Comprehensive Care for Six Newborn Challenges: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Support Lecture Pack 2024
- Country: Northern Ireland
Biography:
Carol Smyth is an IBCLC and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist working in both Primary Care and in private practice in Northern Ireland. With a background in psychology she is driven by a passion to promote attachment based and trauma informed care to families and babies. She is the author of the Why Infant Reflux Matters book, both an HCP education resource and a self-help book for families worried about their baby’s reflux and unsettled behaviours. When working with parents she aims to increase understanding of normal (often misunderstood) baby behaviours and to explain why these are often different from what we expect. This understanding helps to lower parental anxiety and promotes attachment strategies proven to reduce crying.
CE Library Presentation(s) Available Online:
What Does Breastfeeding Mean for Fertility?
The impact of breastfeeding on fertility has been neglected by research in recent years. There can be significant variation in when the menstrual cycle returns for parents, which can impact their plans for family expansion. Some who conceived easily before breastfeeding, can find it much more difficult to conceive while breastfeeding. Some who struggle with recurrent miscarriage can wonder if breastfeeding is impacting their ability to carry to term. Many are left wondering whether to wean their nursling in order to conceive again, which can be a very difficult decision to make, when that conception is uncertain. This presentation will review the research on how breastfeeding affects the menstrual cycle, how fertility is initially suppressed and how it returns, the ongoing effect that breastfeeding can have on fertility, how to use breastfeeding as a contraceptive method (if desired), how to maximise chances of conception (if desired) and whether it may affect a pregnancy after conception has occurred.
Presentations:
28 | Hours / CE Credits: 29.5
| Viewing Time: 8 Weeks
Presentations:
1 | Hours / CE Credits: 1
| Viewing Time: 2 Weeks
Hours / CE Credits: 1 (details) | Categories:
(IBCLC) Pharmacology and Toxicology, (IBCLC) Physiology and Endocrinology, Lactation & Fertility
From Distressed to Regulated: A Holistic Way to Comfort the Unsettled Baby
Unsettled behaviour in the early weeks and months of a baby's life is a common reason for presentation to a healthcare provider. Parents have worries about reflux, allergies, colic and pain. The distress and worry can also be associated with mental health difficulties in the caregiver(s), such as anxiety and depression. Parents often eliminate foods or trial medications without clear indications due to their perception of their baby's pain and distress. Managing the healthy but unsettled baby involves taking a holistic view of unsettled behaviours shaped by an understanding of neurodevelopment, family dynamics and caregiving practices, and evidence-based interventions. This presentation will review the research on neurodevelopment and the distress curve, reasons for crying, and what we know about how to reduce distress.
Hours / CE Credits: 1 (details) | Categories:
(IBCLC) Infant, (IBCLC) Pathology, (IBCLC) Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology, Crying, Colic, Fussy Baby
