CBC Learning Lab
The CBC Learning Lab is the California Breastfeeding Coalition’s educational series focused on evidence-based practices for health care providers. CBC Learning Lab workshops and presentations are hosted online free of charge.
2025-2026 Learning Lab Webinars
Don’t Just Survive—Thrive! Practical, Tangible Self-Care to Prevent Burnout
Speaker: Christy Jo Hendricks, IBCLC, RLC, CLE, CCCE, Doula
Compassion fatigue and burnout are significant challenges for peer counselors, whose well-being is crucial for effective performance. This session provides practical self-care strategies to help counselors thrive in high-stress roles. We will define compassion fatigue as the emotional strain from exposure to trauma. Recognizing this is essential for prevention. Participants will learn three signs of burnout: chronic exhaustion, detachment or cynicism, and a sense of ineffectiveness. Early detection is key to effective self-care.
The session will highlight three reasons to practice self-care: maintaining physical and mental health, enhancing resilience, and inspiring peers and clients to adopt healthy practices. Core themes include leaving work at work, recognizing burnout, practicing self-care, and making mindfulness a habit.
By the end, participants will have actionable tools to prevent burnout, ensuring they can support others effectively while maintaining their own health and happiness.
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize at least three early warning signs of burnout commonly experienced by professionals in caregiving and high-stress roles.
- Explain three key reasons why self-care is essential for maintaining personal well-being and professional effectiveness.
- Describe three practical self-care strategies that perinatal professionals can implement in the workplace to support resilience and prevent burnout.
Continuing Education Units (available until 12/17/26):
1.0 L-CERP | 1.0 CPEU | 1.0 CE Contact Hour
Cost: CBC Members: Free | Non-CBC Members (w/ CEUs): $10
For CEUs, please email Chanel at chanel@californiabreastfeeding.org.
Cultural Dimensions in Promoting, Protecting, and Supporting Lactation in AANHPI Communities
Speakers: Grace Yee, IBCLC, Retired, Ruta Lauleva Lua’iufi Aiono, IBCLC, and Tonya Lang, MPH, CHES, IBCLC
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) is an umbrella term used to describe many different cultures and distinct languages that represent almost half the globe. However, the unique needs and characteristics of AANHPI subgroups are often masked by disaggregated data. This presentation will describe the diversity within AANHPI communities, including cultural practices that are supportive of lactation, to help lactation support providers improve and tailor breastfeeding support for all AANHPI communities.
Learning objectives:
- Describe the diversity that exists under the AANHPI umbrella.
- Define the “model minority” myth, and how it masks the diversity of AANHPI communities.
- Discuss the available breastfeeding data and its limitations.
- Describe clinical and cultural factors that may influence breastfeeding.
Name two cultural practices that support breastfeeding. - Understand the importance of offering culturally congruent lactation support to AANHPI families.
Continuing Education Units (available until 9/16/26):
1.0 R-CERP | 1.0 CPEU | 1.0 CE Contact Hour
Cost: CBC Members: Free | Non-CBC Members (w/ CEUs): $10
For CEUs, please email Chanel at chanel@californiabreastfeeding.org.
Resource Handout: Stages of Postpartum Food Intake
Community Milk Sharing
Though pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) is the absolute best medicine for medically fragile infants, the World Health Organization doesn’t distinguish between PDHM and milk provided by another lactating individual in its recommendations of human milk over infant formula in cases where a child can’t access their mother’s own milk.
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine also has a positive position on informal milk sharing.
In 2022, the California Breastfeeding Coalition sponsored two webinars presenting facts and experiences associated with community, or informal, milk sharing:
Webinar for Providers:
How to Support Families Who Engage In Community Human Milk Sharing
Authorities on community milk sharing discuss:
- Current evidence for community milk-sharing and what it means
- Best practices for shared decision-making
- What families should know about guidelines for screening milk donors
- Informing families about safe handling and storage of human milk
Speakers: Dr. Aunchalee Palmquist, IBCLC and researcher; Dr. Natasha Sriraman, MD; Brandi Gates-Burgess, IBCLC
Parent Experience Panel:
Community Milk Sharing: What You Need To Know About Giving and Receiving Liquid Gold
This video features a panel of milk donors and grateful milk recipients sharing their personal experiences. Moderator Brandi Gates-Burgess of Breast Friends Lactation Support Services also presents historical information on the tradition of community milk sharing, wet nursing, and Black history and breastfeeding.
California Hospital Breastfeeding Support: Key Concepts Series
In 2021, the California Breastfeeding Coalition hosted a three-part webinar series for California Perinatal Hospitals implementing changes related to California Health and Safety Code (HSC § 123367). Deadline for implementation of the code is Jan. 1, 2025. Each session offers expert information, showcases successful hospital practices, facilitated shared learning and state-of-the-art resources.
This series was funded by the WIC Regional Liaison Program of Alameda County and supported by CMQCC, PAC/LAC, and Inland Empire Breastfeeding Coalition. The videos are meant to be watched in the order listed below:
- Breastfeeding Metrics: Core Measures and Performance Planning
- Implementing Skill-Based Breastfeeding Competency Training
- Family-Centered and Culturally Responsive Implementation of Hospital Breastfeeding Care Practices
- Mandatory California Hospital Infant Feeding Policy and Practice: Is Your Hospital on Track?
- Breastfeeding Support Strategies for Late Preterm Infants
- Care after Discharge: Coordinating with Community Support (Sept. 18, 2024)
Breastfeeding Metrics
Core Measures and Performance Planning
Objectives:
- Explain core and expanded breastfeeding metrics
- Identify potential data measures for Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) performance improvement
- Learn how other hospitals are addressing barriers using data
Speakers: Julia Bourg, Catherine Sullivan, Emily McCormick (CMQCC Maternal Data Center); and Tammy Turner (Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital)
Implementing Skill-Based Breastfeeding Competency Training
Objectives:
- Summarize breastfeeding competencies as defined by current Baby-Friendly and California Model Policy guidance
- Identify effective ways to implement and validate skills-based competencies
- Learn steps and resources for developing and implementing a sustainable hospital training plan.
Speakers: Julia Bourg and Catherine Sullivan (CMQCC Maternal Data Center)
Family-Centered and Culturally Responsive Implementation of Hospital Breastfeeding Care Practices
Objectives:
- Identify essential elements of family-centered and culturally responsive counseling to support ongoing development of staff competencies
- Learn strategies to strengthen patient access to appropriate community care
- Identify ways to use breastfeeding performance measures to improve outcomes, care equity and patient satisfaction
Speakers: Aunchalee Palmquist (Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute)
Mandatory California Hospital Infant Feeding Policy and Practice: Is Your Hospital on Track?
Objectives:
- Evaluate and update your hospital infant feeding policy using California Model Hospital Policy and WHO Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative guidelines and criteria.
- Identify key components of successful infant feeding policy implementation including staff adherence.
- Explore best practices in infant feeding policy continuous quality improvement.
Speakers: Eileen FitzPatrick and Tammy Titus (Baby Friendly USA)
Breastfeeding Support Strategies for Late-Preterm Infants
Objectives:
- Recognize the late-preterm infant gestational age and general characteristics.
- Know the organ most responsible for difficulties with late preterm chest/breastfeeding.
- Identify feeding tools that can help late-preterm infants overcome chest/breastfeeding difficulties and be able to state how these tools increase chest/breastfeeding success.
- Describe the milestones late-preterm infants need to reach to be able to exclusively chest/breastfeed.
Speakers: Sandra Cole (Breastfeeding Challenges Made Easy for Late-Preterm Infants)
Resources: Download Sandra’s slides
Care after Discharge: Coordinating with Community Support
Live webinar took place on September 19, 2024.
Objectives:
- Identify 2 essential elements of coordinated discharge to ensure timely access to ongoing support and care.
- Describe how to prepare parents for continued breastfeeding after discharge from the NICU by providing written follow-up plans.
- Describe 3 important strategies for establishment of breastfeeding support groups that are acceptable to different communities.
Speakers: Brandi Gates-Burgess (Breast Friends Lactation and Support Services) and Julia Bourg (Carolina
Global Breastfeeding Institute (CGBI))
Resources:
COVID-19 Webinar Series
In 2020, the CBC Learn Series presented several webinars to help providers understand the intersection of lactation support and the global pandemic caused by COVID-19.
Thanks to generous support from the California Health Care Foundation, California WIC Association and Inland Empire Breastfeeding Coalition, the sessions were free and included continuing education credits for participants. Though credits are no longer available, you can access the webinar sessions free below. Before viewing, take into consideration that the content presented in each video is accurate to the time of its recording in 2020 but current data may lead to different conclusions.
Speakers:
Jessica Lee, Center for Worklife Law;
Caroline Wick, UC San Francisco;
Robbie Gonzalez-Dow, California Breastfeeding Coalition
Speakers:
Dr. Ernelyn J. Navarro;
Dr. Demedre Lane Barnes;
Sommer Hail;
Wendy Johnson
Speakers:
Brandi Gates-Burgess, IBCLC;
Michele Poole, peer counselor;
Karen Garcia, peer counselor;
Tonya Kubo, community strategist
Speakers:
Karolina Ochoa,
IBCLC; Nichelle Clark, IBCLC
Speakers:
Dr. Anne Eglash, MD, FABM, IBCLC;
Dr. Karen Bodnar, MD,IBCLC