When a baby is born at 32 weeks, everyone understands and expects that there will be challenges to lactation and breastfeeding/chest feeding, and a support network mobilizes. Where is the support network for the dyad that includes a 36-week baby?
Late preterm dyads need intensive and continuous support, often far exceeding the capacity of hospital postpartum staff and outpatient lactation settings. Access to a lactation expert on Early Birds, babies born between 34+0 and 36+6 weeks gestation, can mean the difference between robust & faltering milk production, a baby who fails to gain weight early or one who grows well right from the start, a parent whose feeding goals are attainable or which are slipping away as the first weeks pass. This session
will bring you up to speed on exactly what techniques & counseling will best support these dyads in your practice.

67 minutes –

1 R CERP/Nursing CE

Despite the growing body of evidence on the compatibility of lactation after receiving anesthesia, sedation, or analgesia,lactating surgical patients are often still misinformed by their health care team to pump and discard for an unnecessary and
arbitrary period of time. Misinformation and lack of perioperative lactation support may lead to increased patient stress, decreased milk supply, mastitis, or unintentional weaning. This comprehensive talk will cover all aspects of the perioperative care of the lactating patient including preoperative counseling and education, intraoperative anesthetic management, and postoperative strategies to maintain and protect lactation. However, there are indications or reasons to wean when lactating patients may not be able to continue their breastfeeding/chestfeeding feeding journey. Other highlights will include the basics of the various types of anesthesia, actual case studies, role plays, and available evidenced based resources and references for both patients and the health care team.

90 minutes

1.5 L CERP/Nursing CE

The term “tongue-tied” has unfortunately become a polarizing phrase in the infant feeding world with definitions varying widely depending on training and specialization. As lactation care providers, our skills in assessing an infant’s oral range
of motion, is critical to assisting in feeding interventions and helping advocate for appropriate care. This presentation aims to demonstrate that by adopting a standardized tool our team has been able to comprehensively explain to parents the dimensions of the assessment, while earning the trust and respect of our community pediatricians and neonatologists by using objective terminology and a tool that is replicable. Using a standardized tool and universally accepted language also helps to communicate better within a peer team, allowing multiple practitioners to work together with a family to reach their feeding goals.

53 minutes

1 R CERP/Nursing CE

This presentation will explore various high risk pregnancy complications including preeclampsia and cardiovascular conditions and the intersection of how they impact the lactating dyad. This session will also discuss what the early warning signs are so that lactation care providers can better assist in identification and treatment.

77 minutes

1 R CERP/Nursing CE

Laboratory values during lactation can be a helpful assessment tool when working with issues such as insufficient milk production, overproduction, delayed lactogenesis II, acute and chronic health conditions, non-binary lactation, adoptivenursing, and puzzling infant symptomatology. Labs can be drawn for many hormones or nutrients such as prolactin, thyroid hormones, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, iron, vitamin B12, zinc, A1C, and vitamin D. Values can also be studied in
human milk. While there are published normal ranges for the above, ranges during lactation differ and can be inconsistent between laboratories and depending on which types of tests are used. One value outside the range of normal does not provide a complete picture of what may be causing a problem. Lab values can also be influenced by nursing patterns, diet, medications, health status, and metabolic status. This presentation will explore lab values related to lactation, what they could mean, and
potential suggested interventions.

60 minutes

1 R CERP/Nursing CEs

“May The 4th Be With You” will be presenting the evidence behind the impact of Centering Pregnancy in the 4th trimester care in decreasing pre-term birth and increasing breastfeeding/chestfeeding initiation rates, and how we can bridge the perinatal care
disparity gap through this innovative Centering Pregnancy model of care. We will also discuss the impact of the triad effect (of a physician, an OB nurse and a doula) on lactating parents. 60 minutes

60 minutes

1 R CERP/Nursing CEs

Final Day – Conference Plenary

During pregnancy, birth, and beyond, many patients experience difficulties navigating our very complex and confusing healthcare system. This can leave them vulnerable, feeling frustrated or anxious during an already stressful time, and prevent them from seeking the help or guidance they really need. These struggling parents may not be prepared to effectively advocate for their family’s needs. This presentation, taught by Dr. Liggett, a family medicine physician, will focus on health equity and reproductive justice sharing tools to help lactation care providers guide the families in their care and those in their community to feel more confident and empowered during this critical time

120 minutes

2 E CERP/Nursing CEs

Parents who feed human milk to their babies face numerous barriers, not only in the healthcare system, but in communities, workplaces, childcare, schools, businesses, insurance coverage and more. While optimal supportive care is key to improving
lactation outcomes, ensuring the development and implementation of equitable systems, policies and laws is also essential to creating a culture that normalizes breastfeeding, chestfeeding and human milk feeding. This presentation will explore why
lactation advocacy is an essential call to action for every lactation care provider. This session will also furnish attendees the tools and resources they need to commence meaningful lactation advocacy at the local, state and national levels to create
lasting changes to far-reaching policies that support human milk feeding.

53 minutes

1 E CERP/Nursing CE

More than ever, parents are turning to social media for information about lactation, but misinformation is everywhere. It’s also challenging to figure out what to say, how to say it, and how to make the time for social media content while supporting parents.
Let’s go beyond the basics of just setting up a social media account and focus on strategies for creating ethical, inclusive and engaging content. Learn how to become a trusted voice in the social media space and brand yourself as a lactation care providers
while being inclusive and welcoming for all types of families. This presentation will share social media best practices, give tips and tricks, and do a real-time social media audit of two volunteers from the audience. You’ll leave this fun and inspiring session ready to educate and inform across social media platforms, while still meeting the highest professional and ethical standards.

40 minutes

1 R CERP/Nursing CEs

Not all babies easily accept a bottle despite early introduction and paced feeding. Lactation care providers can be excellent resources for families experiencing bottle difficulties but many do not feel confident in supporting the bottle refusing family.
Effective bottle skills require 1) a good-fit teat compatible with the baby’s oral anatomy, 2) competent sucking skills, and 3) an informed parent/caregiver knowledgeable about bottle feeding. Lactation care providers knowledgeable in bottle feeding can offer strategies beyond the typical distractions and pressure feeding approaches that not only build skills but protect the breastfeeding/chestfeeding relationship. This program will offer a framework for building bottle skills. Practical skills for supporting bottle feeding families as well as the technical skills for improving an infant’s ability to feed at the bottle will be discussed. Novice and seasoned lactation care providers will find the content applicable to practice.

56 minutes

1 L CERP/Nursing CEs

It is well understood that successful breastfeeding requires a team approach. Many issues such a tongue tie, torticollis, and birth trauma can cause an alteration in the infant’s ability to latch and coordinate a proper suck to allow for effective transfer of milk.
While clinical lactation care providers are the main provider of lactation support, these situations may also require the help of multiple disciplines to optimize support for the dyad, and it’s important to understand everyone’s unique role. Understanding the biomechanics of breastfeeding/chestfeeding and how that may be impacted by tongue tie, torticollis, or birth trauma, is necessary to provide holistic care. This talk focuses on scope of practice, team roles, and model care plans.

57 minutes

1 L CERP/Nursing CEs

Learn about the different types of breast pumps, understand the basic terms and settings of a breast pump (including flange sizing), review data on suction patterns and max suction, explore the most popular pumps on the current market, and walk
through the process of evaluating a breast pump you are unfamiliar with. Goal: Become more familiar with breast pumps and be able to guide a patient in making an appropriate choice for their individual pumping needs.

62 minutes

1 L CERP/Nursing CE

This presentation will discuss the current guidelines for and use of culture and sensitivity tests in the presence of parental breast/chest infection as well as the use of the results to guide treatment. In addition, specific types of infections and the typical course of treatment will be shared.

70 minutes

1 L CERP/Nursing CE