National Breastfeeding Month Series

Expanding Lactation Care: Incorporating Inclusion into Professional Practice

Please join us for our virtual speaker series recognizing National Breastfeeding Month and featuring subject matter experts. Click on the individual session to register. Live webinars will be held every Thursday in August, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm EST. The cost for the entire series is $30, but attendees can participate in any or all of the sessions. To pay via check or to request an invoice, contact Sarah Muller-Robbins at srobbins@pmch.org

View detailed information about this series here. 

Checking Problematic Narratives and Services
Against LGBTQ+ Individuals in Lactation 

Thursday, August 5, 2021 
2:00 – 3:00 PM EST

Research has shown that the LGBTQ+ community is more likely to report experiencing discrimination because of their sexual orientation. This intersects with the lack of access to quality care for one’s wellness by centering around decreased chances of receiving affirmative and inclusive support from birth working providers. This workshop provides absolutely no “cookie-cutter” way of informing and educating the importance of being inclusive and affirmative in lactation support. This is to check, correct, and collect problematic narratives that cause harm to a community that continues to remain marginalized. Participants will be informed on the harmful practices that are presented daily in birth work and while serving LGBTQ+ individuals in need of safe and uplifting spaces. Participants will learn ways to dismantle toxic narratives and services to transform their practice and skills to be fully inclusive and affirmative. 

Learning Outcome 

At the conclusion of the program, the participants will self-report knowledge gain related to incorporating inclusive and affirmative language and care when working with LGBTQ+ individuals and intent to change practice by including information or tools presented into professional practice. 

Presenter  

Mystique Hargrove, MS, CFSD, CLE, CBE, Ph.D. Student. As the creator and owner of Black Birth Healer, Mystique Hargrove provides birth work and full-spectrum services for Black/IPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized communities. She facilitates consultations and instructs classes centered on inclusivity, intersectionality, perinatal, postpartum, mental health, holistic wellness, and herbal medicine. Mystique also instructs and facilitates classes centered around evidence-based research for birthing and postpartum individuals, families, and professionals. They bring a background in breastfeeding support and ten years’ experience in mental health and wellness. 

Unlearning Obesity, Learning fatness:
Caring for the Fat Perinatal Client with Respect and Competence 

Thursday, August 12
2:00 – 3:00 PM EST

Fat people receive subpar medical care from deeply biased providers in all settings, including before, during, and after pregnancy. This course will teach the perinatal care provider how to care for their fat clients without causing harm. It will educate on the myths and the facts about fatness, both medically and socially. It will discuss the ways in which perinatal care providers typically fail their fat clients, and it will provide methods for changing practice to provide unbiased, respectful, and competent client care.  

This presentation will address the learners’ understanding of fatness, both medically and socially, and teach them to care for their fat clients without causing harm.  

•  The learner will understand the myths and realities of fatness in the medical and social spheres. This section will focus on research-based information about fatness and health. 
• The learner will understand how perinatal providers typically fail their fat clients. This will include the evidenced-based consequences of this provider failure. 
• The learner will understand how to provide care for fat clients with respect and competence. The focus of this section is client autonomy and provider self-reflection.

Learning Outcome 

At the conclusion of the program, the participants will self-report knowledge gain related to caring for fat individuals without causing harm and intent to change practice by including information or tools presented into professional practice. 

Presenter  

Kristin Vaught Cavuto, MSW, LCSW, IBCLC,  is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in private practice in central New Jersey. Her practice specialties are low supply, maternal and infant mental health, and the intersection of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender in the care of the new family. Kristin is a frequent speaker for regional and national conferences and media.   

Supporting Lactation in Latinx Birthing Families

Thursday, August 19
2:00 – 3:00 PM EST

It’s been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared by WHO. This pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated the inequities that already existed with communities of color. This session will provide an opportunity for participants to identify three institutional barriers lactation for Latino birthing families. Participants will be able to list opportunities to address barriers to supporting communities of color. Identify resources for addressing institutional and systemic racism. 

Learning Outcome 

At the conclusion of the program, the participants will self-report knowledge gain related to identifying and addressing barriers to supporting lactation in Latino birthing families and intent to change practice by including information or tools presented into professional practice. 

Presenter  

Brenda Reyes, RN, CLC, is a bilingual registered nurse and certified lactation counselor. As the Program Specialist Lead: Peer Lactation Services for HealthConnect One (HC One), she has over 15 years of experience working with diverse organizations to create and implement peer support programs for birthing families. Her work centers and engages communities every step of the way. In 2020, her Op-Ed on Why Community-Based Doulas Are A Lifeline for Latinas was featured in HipLatina.com. Her work was also spotlighted in Prism and WellnessandGood.com article. Recently, she was also featured in Telemundo’s Mujeres Imparables by Telemundo for her work in maternal and child health. In 2011 – 2012, Brenda worked on Communities Putting Prevention to Work and on Chicago’s Healthy Places initiative and co-created Hospital Breastfeeding Toolkit for Illinois’ State Perinatal Breastfeeding Quality Improvement Project. She led HC One’s National Birth Equity Leadership Academy (BELA) Community Projects Initiative. Currently, she serves as HC One’s representative to the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC). She has served as an elected board member of USBC and currently serves as a board member at the NAPPLSC. She participated in the Center for Social Inclusion’s National First Food Racial Equity Cohort. 

Understanding Experiences of Bias in Hospital Lactation Support from African American and BIPOC Women: Data from an 18-month study of the Irth project 

Thursday, August 26
2:00 – 3:00 PM EST

Speaker: Kimberly Seals Allers, she/her/hers, Founder, Irth & Executive Director, Narrative Nation, Inc.  

Learning Outcome 

At the conclusion of the program, the participants will self-report knowledge gain related to how biased care impacts the healthy pregnancy, birth, and successful breastfeeding for African-American and BIPOC women and intent to change practice by including information or tools presented into professional practice. 

Presenter  

Kimberly Seals Allers is an award-winning journalist, author of five books, and maternal and infant health strategist. She is the founder of Irth, as in Birth but without the B for bias, a doctor and hospital review and rating app for Black and brown parents, designed to address racism and bias in maternity and infant care. Kimberly is also the host of Birthright, a podcast about joy and healing in Black birth. A former senior editor at Essence magazine, her most recent book, The Big Letdown–How Medicine, Big Business and Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2017. Kimberly’s upcoming book, Birthing in Colour: The Black Mother’s Guide to Pregnancy, Birth & Breastfeeding will be published by Pinter & Martin in 2022. 

Register for all 4 programs using the button below.

View detailed information about this series here.