2023 Monthly Meetings Calendar

The CLCWA meetings have been found to be valuable to IBCLCs who need CERPs for their ongoing professional development, those working towards becoming IBCLCs and to any health professional or voluntary breastfeeding counsellor who work with breastfeeding mothers.  The monthly education meetings are free to members and only $15 for non members. 

The meetings are planned for 2023 and the programme is being finalised.

7.30pm – 8.30pm:  Education Meeting

Attendance certificates for CERPs will be issued via email after meetings. *Please note that due to new IBLCE guidelines, some presentations will be ineligible for CERPS.
Unforeseen circumstances may cause the program to change without notice.

Date	CERP/ venue	Presentation title and speaker
Monday 13 March	1 L Z*	Supporting breastfeeding women to heal birth trauma Katie Carter, Perinatal Social Worker
Monday 20 March	1 L H* 1*	Cow’s milk protein intolerance in the breastfed baby Dr Amy Powles MBBS   Venue: Bassendean Hotel; meet from 6.15pm for dinner prior to education meeting
Monday 17 April	1 L Z*	Principles of drug transfer into breast milk Tamara Lebedevs, senior obstetric pharmacist
Monday 15 May	1 L F2F* 2*	Infant settling and sleep, and the breastfeeding family Pip Wynn Owen RM
Monday 19 June	1 L Z*	Pelvic floor recovery and the breastfeeding woman Claire Kennedy, Pelvic Health Physiotherapist
Monday 17 July	1 L Z*	Does maternal vaccination against meningococcal induce antibodies in breast milk? Dr Chris Mullally PhD
Monday 31 July	1 L F2F*	(World Breastfeeding Week) BFHI: Following the Basic 10 Steps Kirsten Tannenbaum, ABA, BFHI assessor
Monday 21 Aug	1 L Z*	Development of breastfeeding behaviours in very preterm infants Melissa Klifunis BBiomedSci
Monday 18th Sept	1 L F2F*	Mother-Baby Nurture:  a parent-infant group that restores relationships. Sharon Cooke RN RM M Perinat Mental Hlth
Monday 16th Oct	1 L Z*	How do sick/preterm babies feed and sleep in the first 9 months after discharge from the neonatal unit? Emma Lim BBiomedSci

F2F = face to face meeting – check website/ Facebook page for venue details
Z = zoom meeting – enjoy from the comfort of your lounge
H = Hybrid – face to face and available via zoom during the presentation
 
TBA
1. Bassendean Hotel; meet from 6.15pm for dinner prior to education meeting
2. Possums Clinic, Maylands 7pm for a 7.30pm start

	Session overview and speaker biography
Monday 6 March   1 L CERP	Supporting breastfeeding women to heal birth trauma Birth trauma impacts women and their families immediately after birth and then into the years to come. Early, targeted and compassionate support is integral to healing these experiences. This session will focus on: – developing the therapeutic approach for trauma integration to occur; – understanding the vital ingredient of listening, validating and reflecting experiences back for breastfeeding women;  – developing increased confidence to work with dads, birth supporters and other family members; – an overview of the City Birth Trauma Scale to understand some of the key signs to listen in for . Katie Carter is a lecturer in the School of Social Work and Social Policy at The University of Western Australia and has a private social work practice where she focuses on working with families in the perinatal period.  Most recently her research, practice and teaching has focused on the intersection of wellbeing, mental health, trauma integration, spirituality and human rights. Katie is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and specialise working with families in the peri and post-natal time. Katie has over 20 years of social work practice.
Monday 20 March   1 L CERP	Cow’s milk protein intolerance in the breastfed baby This talk will provide an overview of the clinical presentations of Non-IgE mediated food protein allergy in infants, with a focus on food protein induced allergic proctocolitis and food protein induced GORD. Some of the literature and guidelines for diagnosis will be discussed as well as the challenges in diagnostic clarification and the benefits and potential pitfalls of treatment.    Dr Amy Powles MBBS is a General Practitioner with a special interest in lactation medicine and works part-time at Western Obstetrics doing lactation medicine and at Baby Steps Health Centre doing paediatric and perinatal general practice. Amy has a special interest in infant and child health and enjoys providing holistic health care for children and families. Amy is passionate about supporting breastfeeding within the community and in helping mothers and babies with breastfeeding difficulties. Amy is working towards her International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) qualification.

Monday 17 April   1 L CERP

Principles of drug transfer into breast milk This session will guide health professionals through the principles of drug transfer into breast milk using examples including alcohol and tobacco, contraception, drugs of abuse, galactogogues, gel dressings/nipple creams, medication and medicinal herbs. The presentation will cover much of the IBLCE curriculum on pharmacology and toxicology to provide lactation consultants and those preparing for the IBLCE exam with knowledge to guide and appropriately refer women in their care.   Tamara Lebedevs BPharm has extensive experience in women’s health as a senior clinical pharmacist at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth, Western Australia. Tamara has been pivotal in the expansion and promotion of the state-wide Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Information Service. She provides recommendations on the safety of medications whilst breastfeeding to the Therapeutic Guidelines and has contributed a number of research papers in this area.  The specialist practice of Women’s and Newborn Health is a major interest where her expertise, insight and innovation are combined to promote the clinical education and training of health professionals.

Monday 15 May   1 L CERP

Infant settling and sleep, and the breastfeeding family Research has found that when there is a ‘good fit’ between what parents expect life with a newborn to look like and what they actually experience, parents and their babies have better outcomes. (Ball, 2021) Unfortunately, W.E.I.R.D societies have perpetuated unrealistic cultural expectations of early parenthood that contradict infant biological norms, leaving parents wondering what they are doing wrong. This talk explores how evidence-based prenatal parenting education and postnatal support can help expectant couples develop realistic expectations and navigate their way to a ‘good fit’.   Pip Wynn Owen is Certified Childbirth and Early Parenting Educator (CAPEA), NCD Accredited Health Professional, and Registered Midwife. Pip has extensive experience in preparing expecting families for childbirth, breastfeeding and parenting, and in providing support across the postpartum period for breastfeeding, adjustment to parenthood and meeting the needs of the developmental needs of the infant. Pip practices out of a clinic that uses neurodevelopmental care principles to guide and nurture young families.

Monday 19 June   1 L CERP

Pelvic floor recovery and the breastfeeding woman This presentation will look at the relationship between breastfeeding and the pelvic floor, with a focus on women in their first 6 months of their postnatal journey. Claire will look at the role of hormones during breastfeeding and whether these might impact pelvic floor recovery in the postnatal period as well as the role abdominal pressure and load can have on a recovering pelvic floor and how we can encourage women to breastfeed to help optimise pelvic floor recovery.    Claire Kennedy BSc is a Senior Continence & Pelvic Health Physiotherapist who owns and runs Bloom Pelvic Health, a speciality physiotherapy clinic in Perth that focuses on pregnancy, continence and women’s health. Claire has worked extensively within the private practice sector in both musculoskeletal and pelvic health physiotherapy. She has postgraduate qualifications, including her Masters in Continence & Pelvic Health Physiotherapy, and is subsequently a titled Continence & Pelvic Health Physiotherapist. Whilst Claire treats an array of pelvic health and pregnancy related conditions, her special area of interest is the management of pelvic organ prolapse and she has further training and qualifications in the fitting of vaginal pessaries. She sees women with prolapse symptoms in the childbearing years and following menopause and is passionate about managing symptoms to ensure women can have a high quality of life and participate in physical exercise, activities of daily living and not be socially restricted due to prolapse symptoms.

Monday 17th July

Does maternal vaccination against meningococcal induce antibodies in breast milk? Neisseria meningitidis is the causal agent of meningococcal disease. It is typically harmless, residing in the nose and throat of approximately 10% of the population. Occasionally, it can cross the mucous membranes, resulting in life-threatening meningitis and/or sepsis. Children under the age of one are particularly susceptible to invasive disease, due to their naïve immune system. Several vaccines are available to prevent invasive disease, such as the quadrivalent MenACWY vaccine, which covers four major serogroups of N. meningitidis. Since 2016, there has been an alarming increase in the number of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) cases from serogroup W, which is covered by the MenACWY vaccine. This serogroup was responsible for half of all IMD cases in children under the age of one in 2021. Unfortunately, due to the nature of this conjugate vaccine it is not recommended for children under the age of one, leaving this group unprotected. There is evidence that vaccine induced antibodies for other disease such as S. pnuemoniae and influenza are present in the breast milk of breastfeeding mothers. In our study, we aim to detect and quantify the levels anti-meningococcal antibodies in the breast milk of mothers that have been vaccinated with MenACWY.   Dr Chris Mullally PhD is an early-career researcher at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and the Harry Butler Institute at Murdoch University. He recently completed his PhD at the University of Western Australia where he studied meningococcal disease. His current research focuses on sepsis diagnosis and prevention in both adults and neonates.

Monday 31st July   1 L CERP	(World Breastfeeding Week) BFHI: Following the Basic 10 Steps This session will give an overview of how BFHI came about, the aims of BFHI and information about the 10 steps and their implementation.   Kirsten Tannenbaum is a very experienced Australian Breastfeeding Association Breastfeeding Counsellor/Breastfeeding Educator with the Applecross Group. Kirsten has been a BFHI Assessor involved in the assessment of West Australian hospitals for many years.
Monday 21 August   1 L CERP	Development of breastfeeding behaviours in very preterm infants The Preterm Infant Breastfeeding Behaviour Scale (PIBBS) has been developed to enable the monitoring of preterm infants’ progress in breastfeeding during the neonatal nursery stay. In this session findings from the analysis of PIBBS scores of 60 very preterm infants will be presented, giving an overview of how preterm breastfeeding behaviours develop from 33 weeks gestation to term gestation. This information can be used to guide the care and expectations of preterm breastfeeding dyads.   Melissa Klifunis BBioMedSci completed her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science at The University of Western Australia with majors in Anatomy & Human Biology and Women’s Health. Melissa’s studies in Women’s Health piqued her interest in breastfeeding and preterm birth. Melissa is currently undertaking an Honours research project on “The development of breastfeeding behaviours in preterm infants.”
Monday 18th September	Mother-Baby Nurture:  a parent-infant group that restores relationships. This session will explore the background and implementation of a parent-infant therapeutic group for women with perinatal mental health challenges that are significantly impacting their wellbeing and parenting. Sharon’s presentation will include practical strategies for identifying and supporting breastfeeding women with perinatal mental health challenges, as well as resources and referral pathways.   Sharon Cooke is the co-founder of Mother-Baby Nurture (MBN) and together with Sue Coleson, Sharon trains and supervises a multidisciplinary team of perinatal infant mental health clinicians to deliver parent-infant therapeutic groups.  Sharon was the lead researcher in two preliminary studies evaluating the impact of MBN on the mother-infant dyad and has been instrumental in growing MBN, which is now offered in three rural and seven metropolitan sites in Western Australia.  Sharon facilitates a weekly Mother-Baby Nurture group in Perth’s inner suburbs for Playgroup WA and also works as a Clinical Nurse Specialist for SJOG Raphael Outreach Services, providing parent-infant therapy to families from pregnancy to four years. Sharon’s qualifications include Diploma of Parent-Infant Therapy OXPIP UK (in progress), Master of Perinatal and Infant Mental Health ​BSc (Nursing), Post Grad (Midwifery, Child & Community Health), Diploma Professional Coaching, GAICD, and Registered provider Circle of Security, Courage & Renewal.

Monday 16th October

How do sick/preterm babies feed and sleep in the first 9 months after discharge from the neonatal unit? This session will cover the results of a longitudinal study examining sleeping and feeding characteristics, and maternal responses to infant crying, settling and sleep across the first 9 months after discharge of sick/preterm infants. Maternal breastfeeding confidence at discharge, breastfeeding duration and satisfaction with the breastfeeding experience will be discussed and can be used to inform the care of these dyads in the community.   Emma Lim recently completed her Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of Western Australia. During her studies Emma was inspired to pursue a career in research following her experience at the Barry Marshall Microblitz Internship Program. Her background, including special needs support work in childcare, has made her especially eager to contribute to research in child and maternal health. Emma is currently completing her Honours in Medical Research at UWA.