Douglas College’s Perinatal Program is pleased to welcome our World renowned keynote speaker Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA. Nancy began helping families in 1982 as a volunteer breastfeeding counselor. She became a board-certified lactation consultant in 1991 and spent 10 years growing a large private lactation practice in the Chicago area, where she worked one-on-one with thousands of families. Nancy has three current breastfeeding books for parents and two for lactation specialists, including her comprehensive, evidence-based-based counseling guide, Breastfeeding Answers, now in its second edition, which is expected to be available at this event. Additionally, her Breastfeeding Solutions app is used worldwide and her YouTube channel has more than 1.3 million views. She currently contracts with hospitals to improve breastfeeding practices, presents a 90-hour training course in China to prepare aspiring lactation consultants for the IBLCE exam, and speaks at events around the World. Nancy was in the first group of 16 to be honored for her contributions to breastfeeding with the designation FILCA, Fellow of the International Lactation Consultant Association.

Registration: 08:15 to 08:45 am

08:45-09:00 am: Welcome and Indigenous Blessing

0900-10:30 am: “Concerns About Low Milk Production” - 1.5 Hours

Learn which methods of assessing milk adequacy during the hospital stay are reliable and which are unreliable, how to gauge the need for supplements, and when supplements are needed, recommended feeding volumes and methods. Includes evidence-based strategies for optimizing milk production for families exclusively pumping for babies in the NICU and strategies for helping employed mothers maintain milk production long term.

10:30-10:45: Break

10:45-11:45 am: “Nipple Pain and Trauma: Causes and Treatments” - 1 Hour

Offers an in-depth review of the causes of nipple pain and trauma, the evidence on treatment options, strategies for preventing infection, complications that can occur from nipple trauma, and potential causes of nipple pain unrelated to trauma.

11:45-12:45: Lunch

12:45- 14:00: “Simplifying Breastfeeding: The First 36 Hours” - 1.25 Hours

Geared for those who work with nursing couples after birth, this talk focuses on how to make early breastfeeding easier, the effects of skin-to-skin contact and separation on infant stability, what biology tells us about normal feeding patterns, and what’s needed to truly support breastfeeding in both word and deed

14:15-15:15: “Breastfeeding and Substance Use and Abuse” - 1 Hour

What do we need to know about the use of legal and illegal substances by pregnant and breastfeeding families? What are the risks of breastfeeding and not breastfeeding for those who continue to use substances such as alcohol, cannabis, and opioids (morphine, heroin, methadone) after their baby’s birth? Under what circumstances should we encourage or discourage breastfeeding among substance users and abusers? Learn what the experts recommend.

Break: 15:15-15:30

15:30-16:45: “Transitioning to the Breast” - 1.25 Hours

Summarizes strategies that can be used with term and preterm babies transitioning from bottles, nipple shields, and other feeding methods to full breastfeeding using insights from the research and clinical practice. A four-part framework is provided for determining possible factors contributing to distress at the breast or ineffective feeding and how to address them.

16:45-17:00: Closing Remarks