Four of Healthy Children Project’s researchers presented their work at the 2022 LCANZ Conference in Australia. The theme of the conference was Breastfeeding IMPACT (Infants Mothers Professionals Assistance Culture and Teams). Anna Blair, PhD, IBCLC, CLC, Kajsa Brimdyr, PhD, CLC, Karin Cadwell, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANLC, CLC, IBCLC, and Cindy Turner-Maffei, MA, ALC, IBCLC, presented research relating to breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact in the hospital following the birth.

Dr. Brimdyr was a keynote speaker, presenting on both days about the nine stages of skin-to-skin contact in newborn infants. The first session was A deep dive into the 9 Stages of newborn behaviour: Skin-to-skin is magical! and on day two, she will followed up with the presentation, Why don’t newborns get through the 9 Stages – and what can we do about it?. She also premiered a new video on skin-to-skin contact for premature infants!. Find Dr. Brimdyr’s research on skin-to-skin contact in the first hour here.

Dr. Cadwell presented on day one on the experience of mothers of term babies who have been supplemented for medical reasons during the hospital stay with banked donor milk, and on day two, she talked about work she and colleagues have done on on mapping and measuring the activity of skin-to-skin in the first hour after birth. For Cadwell and Brimdyr’s article on this topic published in Breastfeeding Medicine, click here.

There were also four poster presentations presented by Dr. Anna Blair and Cindy Turner-Maffei, summarizing research from the Healthy Children Project team members and colleagues:

• The 500 Kcal Rule for Lactation: Myth or Reality? examines the basis for the idea that a specific 500 calorie increase in food consumption is required to sustain lactating mothers and their babies.
• The Environmental Cost of Powdered Baby Formula Sold in North America is based on a study published in Breastfeeding Medicine tallying the carbon emissions attributable to the infant formula sold in North America.
• Childhood Obesity and Breastfeeding Rates in Pennsylvania Counties–Spatial Analysis of the Lactation Support Landscape examines the relationship between childhood obesity, breastfeeding rates, and access to lactation professionals in different geographic regions of the state. Anna Blair, Ellie MacGregor of the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice, and Healthy Children project team member Nikki Lee published an article on this topic in Frontiers in Public Health in 2020.
• Strategic Policy Planning Using the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative looks at the status of the U.S. and the individual states in achieving the goals of WHO and UNICEF’s Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding published in 2003. It points out progress made in 2021 and 2022 on Indicator 4, Maternity Protection, and Indicator 9, Infant Feeding during Emergencies by introducing new legislation.

Online modules featuring Kajsa Brimdyr’s skin-to-skin research can be taken to earn contact hours from Health Education Associates:

• Newborn’s 9 Instinctive Stages (video), .5L CERPS for IBCLCs, .5 contact hours for CLCs
  
• Skin-to-Skin Article – Underlying Implications and Clinical Practice, 2 Contact Hours for RNs, 2.0L CERPs for IBCLCs, 2 contact hours for CLCs
• Skin-to-Skin in the First Hour After Birth: Practical Advice for Staff with Video, 1 contact hour for RN’s, 1L CERPS for IBCLCs, 1 contact hour for CLCs
• The Effect of Labor Medications on Normal Newborn Behavior in the First Hour After Birth: A Prospective Cohort Study, 1.5 Contact Hours for RNs, 1.5L CERPs for IBCLCs, 1.5 contact hours for CLCs
• The Nine Stages of Skin-to-Skin: Practical Guidelines and Insights from Four Countries, 1 Contact Hour for RNs, 1L CERP for IBCLCs, 1 contact hour for CLCs
• World Breastfeeding Week 2020 for New Zealand – Kajsa Brimdyr with Updates on Skin-to-Skin Research, .5L CERPS for IBCLCs, .5 contact hours for CLCs

Dr. Cadwell’s article in Breastfeeding Medicine is also part of an online module from Health Education Associates:

• Implementing Skin-to-Skin Contact: Using an Implementation Algorithm, 2 Contact Hours for RNs, 2.0L CERPs for IBCLCs, 2 contact hours for CLCs

Modules related to the poster presentations include:

• Assessing the Environmental Impact of Not Breastfeeding (video), 2.5 contact hours for RN’s, 2.50L CERPs for IBCLCs, 2.5 contact hours for CLCs
• Childhood Obesity and Breastfeeding Rates in Pennsylvania Counties—Spatial Analysis of the Lactation Support Landscape (video), 1 contact hour for RN’s, 1.0L CERP for IBCLCs, 1 contact hour for CLCs
• The World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (video), 6 contact hours for RNs, 6.0L CERPs for IBCLCs, 6 contact hours for CLCs
• Worldwide Policies on Breastfeeding Module Collection, 18 Contact Hours for RNs, 18.0L CERPs for IBCLCs, 18 Contact Hours for CLCs