The Grand Conference 2024

Topics for May 27th, 2024

Carol Smyth, IBCLC, CBT

Carol Smyth is an IBCLC and CBT (Cognitive-behavioral therapy) psychotherapist working in Northern Ireland, and the author of ‘Why Infant Reflux Matters’. Carol also provides parental workshops, CBT counselling and professional education. She has a special interest in reflux and unsettled babies, and in helping parents to understand the normal baby behaviours and communications which are often misunderstood as reflux or pain. Parents managing an unsettled baby are often understandably anxious about their little one, and she integrates mental health interventions into practical strategies to reduce reflux.

Topics:

1- Why Infant Reflux Matters Challenging the Acid Suppression Paradigm 

2- Managing Low Weight Gain & Low Milk Supply in the Breastfeeding Dyad

 

 

Robin P. Glass, MS, OTR/L, IBCLC

Robin P. Glass, MS, OTR/L, IBCLC practices occupational therapy at Seattle Children's Hospital in Seattle, WA and is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation, at the University of Washington. Her clinical specialty is the treatment of infants, with a strong focus on feeding and swallowing issues. She provides treatment for both outpatient and hospitalized infants including the NICU with a wide range of medical and developmental diagnoses. She is NDT (Neurodevelopmental Treatment) trained and is a 20+ year Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Robin has extensive national and international experience speaking about infant feeding/swallowing. She has received numerous awards including the National Association of Neonatal Therapists (NANT) Pioneer Award and the Nancy Danoff Spirit of Service award from the Breastfeeding Coalition of WA and Nutrition First. Ms. Glass has co-authored numerous journal articles as well as the book Feeding and Swallowing Disorders in Infancy: Assessment and Management.

Topic: 

1- Interactions Between Breastfeeding and the Development of the Respiratory System

 

 

Sonia Semenic, RN, PhD

Sonia Semenic, RN, PhD is an Associate Professor at the Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University (Montreal, Quebec) and a Nurse Scientist at the McGill University Health Center. Dr. Semenic has an extensive clinical background as a board-certified lactation consultant and Clinical Nurse Specialist in maternal-child health, and co-led the development of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s Best Practice Guideline “Breastfeeding – Promoting and Supporting the Initiation, Exclusivity and Continuation of Breastfeeding for Newborns, Infant and Young Children”. Her research program involves knowledge translation processes in the field of perinatal health, with a special focus on evidence-based practices to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. Dr. Semenic is co-founder of the Canadian Breastfeeding Researcher Network, and is currently co-PI of a large randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of a breastfeeding self-efficacy-based intervention to improve breastfeeding and blood pressure outcomes among women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. 

Topic:

1-  Enhancing Breastfeeding Self-efficacy to Improve Breastfeeding Outcomes

 

 

Topics for May 28th, 2024

 

Alexandra Glass, MD, IBCLC

Dr. Alexandra Glass is an obstetrician and gynecologist and an IBCLC in Hanover, Germany. She is also the vice-president of the German board of IBCLC and teaching and lecturing on breastfeeding/chestfeeding, with a focus on medical problems during breastfeeding, nutrition during breastfeeding, relactation and induced lactation and also on breastfeeding toddlers. She is the mother of two daughters, age 15 and 12.

Topics:

1- Benign Breast Diseases and Breast Masses in Lactating Women

2- Severe Diseases in the Early Postpartum Period

 

 

Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLC, FILCA

Liz Brooks is a private practice International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and licensed lawyer. She works bedside at two BFHI-designated hospitals, and in parents’ homes.  Lactation helpers (like IBCLCs) struggle with ethical, legal, and moral concerns in their everyday work settings. With plain language and humor, Liz shares tips for immediate use, to protect both the family and the clinician. She authored the only textbook on legal and ethical issues for the IBCLC, and writes extensively for other textbooks, blogs, and peer-reviewed journals. Liz is a popular international conference speaker, using wit and wisdom to share pragmatic suggestions for anyone who supports lactating and human milk-using families. Liz self-identifies as a cisgender hetero white woman with unearned privilege, uses she/her/hers pronouns, and advocates for inclusive care and language.

Topics:

1- You Say Help Me, I Say Here's Some Formula! Where Marketing, BFHI Step 6, and Lactation Care Intersect

2- The WHO Code in Everyday Practice: Real Life Scenarios