Hosted by Boston Medical Center Health System

Date: March 23, 2023

Time: 10:00 a.m. PST, via Zoom

Register here

Join Kiran Saluja MPH, RDN, as she provides an overview of the PHFE WIC Program, a program of Heluna Health, including three specific breastfeeding promotion, support, and advocacy cutting-edge programs: (1) Red Baby Alert protocol: when WIC newborns have lost too much weight, (2) Cinnamoms program: How Cinnamoms is optimizing the breastfeeding experiences of Black/African American WIC families in Southern California, and (3) Employee Perinatal Support Program.

Learning objectives:

1. Recognize the evolving support for breastfeeding in the WIC program and the strides made in 45 plus years

2. For each of the three programs presented, attendees will:

a) Understand the reasons behind conceptualizing each program

b) Learn about the importance of each program

c) Describe key elements

d) Evaluate what tools are needed to adopt/adapt/advocate for these programs at work

Hosted by UCSD Human Milk Institute (HMI)

Date: March 23, 2023

Time: 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. PST

Location: 4305 University Ave suite 640, San Diego, CA, 92105

Cost: Free

Register here

Please register for the upcoming Human Milk Institute (HMI) Workshop, which seeks to connect community based organizations, researchers, and clinicians who have a shared interest in breastfeeding and lactation. This workshop is co-sponsored by the UCSD Altman Clinical & Translational Research Institute (ACTRI), and will be held at 4305 University Ave, Suite 640, 92105.

The goal of the workshop is to hear about the topics or questions most pertinent to community based organizations to help expand or support work in breastfeeding and lactation.

Lunch will be served

Questions? Please contact HMI here.

Hosted by Public Counsel’s Audrey Irmas Project for Women and Girls’ Rights

Date: April 4, 2023

Time: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. PST

Register here

Please check out the flyer below to Public Counsel’s Women & Girls’ Rights Project’s upcoming training, directed towards pregnant and parenting workers and students, on Pregnancy and Parenting at Work & On Campus. This webinar will be simultaneously interpreted into Spanish. Please feel free to pass along the invitation and attached flyer (in both Spanish and English)!

Click here to view flyer

Questions? Please contact Molly at mmauckpubliccounsel@gmail.com

Presented by National Association of County and City Health Officials

Date: April 11, 2023

Time: 10 to 11:30 a.m. PST

Register here

Join NAACHO for their seventh webinar of the 8-part “Every Step of the Way through the 1,000 Days” series, on Breastfeeding Champions as Community Changemakers. This webinar will focus on Recommendation 7 of the Continuity of Care in Breastfeeding Support: A Blueprint for Communities: “assume a community champion role, beyond the provision of direct services, by identifying and engaging key stakeholders to identify and help remove structural barriers to chest/breastfeeding within systems, organizations, and the community.”

Questions? Please email tmoore@naccho.org

Hosted by BreastfeedLA

Date: April 19, 2023

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST

Online via Zoom & In-person at Mount Saint Mary’s University

10 Chester Pl, Los Angeles, CA, 90007

Cost: $50-$99

Learn more and register here!

This presentation will introduce clinical skills such as Therapeutic Breast Massage, Hand Expression, Breast Gymnastics, Reverse Pressure Softening and Soft Stretching Techniques that are essential for every lactation consultant, as well as other healthcare professionals. This unique hybrid event will provide hands-on skills training with actual clients. Teaching these manual techniques to parents will support and empower them to deal with the pain and discomfort of engorgement, plugged ducts and mastitis. They will also be useful in managing oversupply or working on increasing milk production.

Click flyers to enlarge.

Questions? Please contact Bethany Harrington at 323-210-8505 or by email info@breastfeedla.org

Hosted by Central Valley Breastfeeding Conference Committee

Date: April 20, 2023

Time: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PST

Location: Fresno Fields by Wedgewood Weddings
4584 W Jacquelyn Ave., Fresno, CA, 93722

Cost: $75 until 3/3, $95 starting 3/4

Please join us at our 3nd Annual Central Valley Lactation Conference on Thursday, April 20th, 2023! We are excited to announce our keynote speaker Melissa Cole, MS, IBCLC, RLC. Also presenting, Central Valley local Adrienne Guirguis, IBCLC, RLC, CCE, LLLL (Ret) New to this year’s conference, Central Valley Panel of Front-Line Lactation Support Advocates: Bridging the Gap from Inpatient to Outpatient.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference!

Thank you,
Central Valley Lactation Conference Planning Committee

For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://conta.cc/3YFaoiD

Click flyer to enlarge. 

Questions? Please email cvlactationconference@gmail.com

Hosted by National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO)

Date: April 24-27, 2023

Time: 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. PST

As the first and longest-running national preparedness conference, the Preparedness Summit is the place for you to reenergize while gaining the knowledge, resources, and relationships necessary to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies. Don’t miss your chance to join more than 2,000 attendees—who work in all levels of federal, state, and local government, as well as emergency management, volunteer organizations, healthcare coalitions, and academia—to share best practices, build partnerships, advance your skillset, and take away innovative solutions and practical strategies to address the vulnerabilities in our country’s health security system.

The 2023 Preparedness Summit, taking place April 24 to 27 in Atlanta, will feature two presentations focused on infant and young child feeding in emergencies:

• Poster session – Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies: Considerations for Preparedness and Response Planning
• Demonstration – How to Implement Safe Infant Feeding in Emergencies: From a Local Project to a Statewide, Bilingual Mission Ready Package with Medical Reserve Corps

Click here to visit summit website.

Hosted by Evergreen Perinatal Education

Date: April 24-28, 2023

Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST

Location: 1603 Powell Street, Emeryville, CA, 94608

Cost: $995.00

Register here

A complete, in-person core program to begin practice in evidence-based breastfeeding and lactation care. This five-day course is essential education for any healthcare professional or individual who works with new mothers and their newborns, or as the beginning process for becoming a lactation consultant (IBCLC). This in-depth, in-person course enables participants to provide accurate, current and consistent information about breastfeeding and lactation and to support new families in feeding their babies from birth through the process of weaning.

This in-person course provides 45 theoretical hours for the IBLCE exam eligibility requirements and designation as a Certified Lactation Educator. All areas of the exam grid are included, and the course content is based on current scientific research. Over the course of five days, each participant will:

Complete a written project on a breastfeeding topic of his/her choice, which will be completed outside of classroom time and reviewed by faculty during the week of the course. Complete a comprehensive written study guide on anatomy & physiology which will be submitted during the week of class for course credit. Participate in classroom and group quizzes, case studies and practice scripts of common scenarios.

Begin preparation for the certification exam to become an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant). Receive a certificate of completion as a Lactation Educator at conclusion of course. Evergreen Perinatal Education has been accepted by International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) as a CERP provider for the listed Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) programme. Determination of CERPs eligibility or CERPs Provider status does not imply IBLCE®’s endorsement or assessment of education quality.

Questions? Please contact Kristi by email at kristi@evergreenperinataleducation.com or by phone 206-914-6891

Hosted by San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition

Date: April 29, 2023

Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. PST, via Zoom

Register here

View detailed event flyer here

Featuring 3 Presentations:

1. Cannabis Use During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding:

The rates of cannabis use among pregnant and breastfeeding women range from 5% to 5.7%. However, rates are significantly higher, ranging from 27% to 83% when considering other risk factors, such as unplanned pregnancy, lack of exercise, and 3 or more stressors in the past year. If women use cannabis during pregnancy, they are likely to continue using it while breastfeeding, which raises several concerns. Is breastfeeding contraindicated? If the mother is breastfeeding, how much cannabis transfers into milk and the baby? Are the parents impaired while using? Is the baby in danger? This session addresses these important questions and offers suggestions for creating a safe environment for mothers to discuss their cannabis use so we can help her plan for infant safety. If mothers cannot abstain, practitioners should focus on harm reduction, while considering “how much is too much.” Some harm-reduction strategies include addressing the underlying reasons for mothers’ cannabis use (such as trauma, depression, or anxiety) with referrals to supportive services. Can mothers use CBD products instead of cannabis? Can they use edibles instead of smoking or inhaling it? Is the infant in a safe sleep location? For heavy cannabis users, breastfeeding is contraindicated. The most important goals are ensuring infant safety, caring for the mother, supporting breastfeeding (when possible), and facilitating mother-infant attachment.

2. Does Breastfeeding Protect Maternal Mental Health? The Impact of Oxytocin and Stress:

Breastfeeding and depression have a complicated relationship. On one hand, mothers who are depressed are less likely to initiate or continue breastfeeding. On the other hand, exclusively breastfeeding mothers are less likely to be depressed. To understand this apparent contradiction, it’s important to understand the underlying physiology of the stress vs. oxytocin response. Oxytocin suppresses the stress response, providing protection for the mother. Conversely, stress suppresses oxytocin, which makes both depression and breastfeeding difficulties more likely. Birth interventions also have a role in activating this system. This session describes oxytocin vs. stress and then applies this knowledge to recent studies to understand whether breastfeeding actually protects maternal mental health.

3. Birth Trauma: Causes and Consequences of Birth-Related PTSD:

Trauma after birth is unfortunately quite common around the world. So much so that the World Health Organization has highlighted the problem of women receiving abusive or trauma-production care during labor and postpartum. In fact, recent studies have found that as many as 1 in 4 women have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following their births. Many more experience depression or anxiety. What types of symptoms do they have and how do these symptoms impact breastfeeding and women’s emotional health? In this session, you will learn about the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD and why some types of births are more likely to cause symptoms. You will also learn how these symptoms might impact breastfeeding, and what mothers and practitioners can do to help.

Can’t attend the live event?
Register today & receive a link to the recording within 1 week from the live event

Click flyer to enlarge.

Questions? Please contact San Diego Breastfeeding Coalition at sdcbc@breastfeeding.org or by phone 1-800-371-MILK (4655)