ABA2019 program

Download Brochure for Sydney, Brisbane and Perth:

Download Brochure for Melbourne:

Program One:
Live Seminars in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth

(Melbourne Program follows)

**Also available as an online webinar

Time	Program Schedule
8.00am	Registration Open
8.45am	Welcome and Introductions
9.00am	Dr. Alison Stuebe, MD, MSc, FACOG, FABM: *Diabetes and early weaning - which came first, and what can we do about it?* Evidence continues to accrue showing that longer durations of breastfeeding are associated with improved health for mothers. However, metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes, are risk factors for delays in lactogenesis, low milk supply, and premature weaning. In this talk, we’ll discuss what the current science tells us about metabolic disease and lactation physiology, and how can we enable mothers with metabolic complications to achieve their breastfeeding goals.
10.00am	Dr. Natalie Shenker BM BCh, MSc, PhD, MRCS (Eng), (UK): *At the heart of the matter: the story of the Hearts Milk Bank* Milk banks can provide a focus for lactation support in the community, as well as critical donor milk provision for sick and premature babies in hospital. In the UK, milk bank provision has been heavily rationed since the 1980s, with little chance of change within the NHS. Three years ago, Dr Shenker along with Gillian Weaver founded the Hearts Milk Bank (HMB), a not-for-profit organisation funded by direct donations and the provision of donor milk to hospitals. As well as providing assured access to screened donor milk to hospitals across London and the south and east of the UK, the HMB now works alongside the newly established Human Milk Foundation to assist parents to access donor milk for their babies when they would not be eligible on the NHS. Dr Shenker will discuss the fundamental aims of HMB to ensure equitable, assured access to donor milk when breastfeeding is not possible, keeping the mother and baby, and the support of breastfeeding, at the heart of what they do. As well as the facilitation of research into the uses, processing and storage of donor milk, the HMB is also a centre for ethically-funded research into human milk science.
11.00am	Morning Tea
11.30am	Dr. Elizabeth Quinn, MPH, PhD: The Milk of Human Kind(ness): investigations into global variation in milk composition and how milk adapts to ecological and environmental pressures. Human breast milk is remarkable, like humans themselves. We produce, like all other mammals, a species specific milk. Our milk is high in sugar (lactose), low in protein, and low/intermediate in fat. Our milk contains numerous immune factors such as immunoproteins, and even special sugars to feed our bacteria. Our milk reflects the evolutionary pressures that humans have experienced as parents to slow growing, large brained infants. As an anthropologist, Dr. Quinn views human milk as one of the most crucial pieces to the story of humans – from our evolution to our geographical spread. No other single species of mammal occupies as many and as diverse ecologies and geographies as humans do. Nor do other mammals experience the complexity of how social rules and practices influence how we breastfed, with implications for our milk composition. The human story is centered on human milk – the vital first food for the majority of our history – and its incredible flexibility and adaptative nature. Human milk changes under different environmental and ecological conditions as a way of supporting infant health and growth. Drawing on her work with ethnic Tibetans from the Himalayas, as well as research from colleagues, She will explore some of the many ways in which milk responds and adapts to different nutritional, ecological, and behavioral pressures and the ways in which these changes influence infant.
12.30pm	Dr. Natalie Shenker, BM BCh, MSc, MRCS (Eng), PhD (UK): *Human milk science: what could we discover over the next 5 years?* Dr Shenker is focussed on establishing a wide-ranging programme of research, centred around the work of the Hearts Milk Bank but involving a consortium of researchers from across the world. In this talk, she will outline some of the discoveries they have made already, and where the challenges lie ahead. Her research to date has delved into the constituents of human milk over the natural term of breastfeeding, used cells derived from human milk as a resource to assess epigenetic markers of breast cancer risk (with potential for the development of cancer risk prediction tools), and laid the groundwork for a nationwide prospective population cohort study, the BECS study, which aims to collect milk samples from thousands of mothers. The resulting bioresource aims to develop new risk prediction tools for breast cancer, and create an accessible resource for other scientists.
1.30pm	Lunch
2.30pm	Dr. Alison Stuebe, MD, MSc, FACOG, FABM: *Oxytocin, lactation and perinatal depression.* For many woman, breastfeeding sustains an intimate connection between mother and baby that lasts well into childhood. Indeed, better bonding and reduced depression risk are among the frequently-cited benefits of breastfeeding. However, we also know that women with underlying depression or anxiety are less likely to initiate or sustain breastfeeding, and emerging evidence suggests that dysregulation of oxytocin may contribute both to lactation difficulties and perinatal mood disorders. In this presentation, we’ll explore the psychoneuroendocrinology of lactation and perinatal depression, and develop strategies to jointly address breastfeeding challenges and perinatal mood disorders.
3.30pm	Prof. Yvonne Hauck, BScN, MSc, PhD: *Breastfeeding in public: An international comparison of women’s experiences.* Many countries continue to face challenges in encouraging new mothers to both initiate and continue breastfeeding. Ingrained social and cultural factors have been consistently shown to have an impact on the mother’s decision to breastfeed and central to this, is societal attitudes towards breastfeeding in public. Evidence suggests that in some contexts women may experience negative reactions to breastfeeding in public. This can have a detrimental impact on women and their partners in both considering initiating and continuing breastfeeding, as some women state that they are conscious of adhering to social norms when they need to feed their babies in public. The aim of this international study was to determine the experiences of women around breastfeeding in public within three international contexts: women living in Australia, Ireland and Sweden.
4.30pm	Closing Remarks
4.40pm	Close

Program One:
Live Seminars Melbourne

**Also available as an online webinar

Time	Program Schedule
8.00am	Registration Open
8.45am	Welcome and Introductions
9.00am	Dr. Alison Stuebe, MD, MSc, FACOG, FABM: *Diabetes and early weaning - which came first, and what can we do about it?* Evidence continues to accrue showing that longer durations of breastfeeding are associated with improved health for mothers. However, metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes, are risk factors for delays in lactogenesis, low milk supply, and premature weaning. In this talk, we’ll discuss what the current science tells us about metabolic disease and lactation physiology, and how can we enable mothers with metabolic complications to achieve their breastfeeding goals.
10.00am	Dr. Natalie Shenker BM BCh, MSc, PhD, MRCS (Eng), (UK): *At the heart of the matter: the story of the Hearts Milk Bank* Milk banks can provide a focus for lactation support in the community, as well as critical donor milk provision for sick and premature babies in hospital. In the UK, milk bank provision has been heavily rationed since the 1980s, with little chance of change within the NHS. Three years ago, Dr Shenker along with Gillian Weaver founded the Hearts Milk Bank (HMB), a not-for-profit organisation funded by direct donations and the provision of donor milk to hospitals. As well as providing assured access to screened donor milk to hospitals across London and the south and east of the UK, the HMB now works alongside the newly established Human Milk Foundation to assist parents to access donor milk for their babies when they would not be eligible on the NHS. Dr Shenker will discuss the fundamental aims of HMB to ensure equitable, assured access to donor milk when breastfeeding is not possible, keeping the mother and baby, and the support of breastfeeding, at the heart of what they do. As well as the facilitation of research into the uses, processing and storage of donor milk, the HMB is also a centre for ethically-funded research into human milk science.
11.00am	Morning Tea
11.30am	Dr. Alison Stuebe, MD, MSc, FACOG, FABM: *Oxytocin, lactation and perinatal depression.* For many woman, breastfeeding sustains an intimate connection between mother and baby that lasts well into childhood. Indeed, better bonding and reduced depression risk are among the frequently-cited benefits of breastfeeding. However, we also know that women with underlying depression or anxiety are less likely to initiate or sustain breastfeeding, and emerging evidence suggests that dysregulation of oxytocin may contribute both to lactation difficulties and perinatal mood disorders. In this presentation, we’ll explore the psychoneuroendocrinology of lactation and perinatal depression, and develop strategies to jointly address breastfeeding challenges and perinatal mood disorders.
12.30pm	Dr. Natalie Shenker, BM BCh, MSc, MRCS (Eng), PhD (UK): *Human milk science: what could we discover over the next 5 years?* Dr Shenker is focussed on establishing a wide-ranging programme of research, centred around the work of the Hearts Milk Bank but involving a consortium of researchers from across the world. In this talk, she will outline some of the discoveries they have made already, and where the challenges lie ahead. Her research to date has delved into the constituents of human milk over the natural term of breastfeeding, used cells derived from human milk as a resource to assess epigenetic markers of breast cancer risk (with potential for the development of cancer risk prediction tools), and laid the groundwork for a nationwide prospective population cohort study, the BECS study, which aims to collect milk samples from thousands of mothers. The resulting bioresource aims to develop new risk prediction tools for breast cancer, and create an accessible resource for other scientists.
1.30pm	Lunch
2.30pm	Dr. Elizabeth Quinn, MPH, PhD: The Milk of Human Kind(ness): investigations into global variation in milk composition and how milk adapts to ecological and environmental pressures. Human breast milk is remarkable, like humans themselves. We produce, like all other mammals, a species specific milk. Our milk is high in sugar (lactose), low in protein, and low/intermediate in fat. Our milk contains numerous immune factors such as immunoproteins, and even special sugars to feed our bacteria. Our milk reflects the evolutionary pressures that humans have experienced as parents to slow growing, large brained infants. As an anthropologist, Dr. Quinn views human milk as one of the most crucial pieces to the story of humans – from our evolution to our geographical spread. No other single species of mammal occupies as many and as diverse ecologies and geographies as humans do. Nor do other mammals experience the complexity of how social rules and practices influence how we breastfed, with implications for our milk composition. The human story is centered on human milk – the vital first food for the majority of our history – and its incredible flexibility and adaptative nature. Human milk changes under different environmental and ecological conditions as a way of supporting infant health and growth. Drawing on her work with ethnic Tibetans from the Himalayas, as well as research from colleagues, She will explore some of the many ways in which milk responds and adapts to different nutritional, ecological, and behavioral pressures and the ways in which these changes influence infant.
3.30pm	Prof. Yvonne Hauck, BScN, MSc, PhD: *Breastfeeding in public: An international comparison of women’s experiences.* Many countries continue to face challenges in encouraging new mothers to both initiate and continue breastfeeding. Ingrained social and cultural factors have been consistently shown to have an impact on the mother’s decision to breastfeed and central to this, is societal attitudes towards breastfeeding in public. Evidence suggests that in some contexts women may experience negative reactions to breastfeeding in public. This can have a detrimental impact on women and their partners in both considering initiating and continuing breastfeeding, as some women state that they are conscious of adhering to social norms when they need to feed their babies in public. The aim of this international study was to determine the experiences of women around breastfeeding in public within three international contexts: women living in Australia, Ireland and Sweden.
4.30pm	Closing Remarks
4.40pm	Close

*Speaker order may vary due to speaker commitments. A final program order will be available at the registration desk on the day of each seminar.

Can’t attend in person? Register for the online seminar and gain access to the Information & Research Webinar.

Program Two:
Online Webinars Only

Due to overwhelming popularity, we have assembled leading local and international researchers and practitioners who will present the latest information and research in human lactation and infant and maternal health. Register for the webinars and you get the information from Program One PLUS additional sessions from the speakers below.

Presenters:

Prof. Cesar Victora, Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at the Federal University of Pelotas (Brazil):
Breastfeeding in the 21st Century
This presentation is based on the 2016 Breastfeeding Series in The Lancet, and is divided in two parts. The first part describes global patterns and trends in breastfeeding practices, including within-country social inequalities. The benefits of breastfeeding for women and children are addressed in a series of over 20 systematic reviews of the international literature, and biological mechanisms that explain how breastmilk protects against illnesses in the woman and child, and how it promotes intellectual development, are discussed. The second part of the lecture examines what works to promote breastfeeding, the economic benefits for countries, the environmental aspects of breastfeeding and existing barriers that prevent women from successfully breastfeeding their children.
Dr. Elizabeth Quinn, MPH, PhD (USA):
Got (pumped) milk? An exploration of pumping as part of breastfeeding practices
Pumping or the expression of human milk has become synonymous with breastfeeding in the United States, Canada, Australia, and many parts of Eastern Europe. In the United States, surveys have found that more than 98% of mothers planning on breastfeeding also intend to pump. More than that, the overwhelming majority of mothers report that pumping is essential to breastfeeding success even with paid family leave. Studies of how and why mothers pump have been limited despite its commonality, and much less is known about how the ability to view one’s own output impacts a mother’s perception of her breast milk supply and breastfeeding ability. In this project, we used three types of data collection with lactating mothers to evaluate how women perceive human milk expression and how these perceptions impact women’s long-term breastfeeding outcomes. We collected online survey data from 800 mothers with mothers randomized to one of three breastfeeding scenarios and asked to respond as if they had just pumped the volume of milk pictured. This created an experimental condition where women were randomized to pumped volumes lower, the same, or more than they pumped. Mothers were then asked to narrate how they felt about the volume and their breastfeeding practices. In the second phase, 100 mothers submitted photos and photo voice narrations of what pumping meant to them. In the final phase, we analyzed six months of posts from online community groups of breastfeeding mothers to look at how women described pumping and their perceptions of breastfeeding in online communities.
Elizabeth McGuire, IBCLC, BSc, Cert IV BE (Community), Dip Breastfeeding Management, Cert IV TAE and Heather Miller, BAppSci (Intellectual Disability, GradDip (Intellectual Disability), Cert IV TAE, CertIV BE (Community) (Australia):
Breastfeeding a child through long-term hospital stay
Heather Miller’s son Austin was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) when he was 19 months old. The next 7 months were a nightmarish journey through chemotherapy to recovery. Heather tells how breastfeeding Austin through that journey helped them stay connected and, as well as possible. She also talks about the stress of balancing Austin’s need for her with the needs of other members of her family, which is an aspect of long term hospitalisation that health professionals may not see. Heather discusses the benefits of breastfeeding a young child in the hospital environment through blood tests, procedures and treatments, and how this may also assist health professionals when providing medical care. Liz McGuire complements Heather’s story with information from the breastfeeding research literature on how breastfeeding might contribute to a child’s physical health in that context.
Renee Kam, IBCLC, BPhysio, Cert IV BE (Counselling) (Australia):
Not all women can establish a full milk supply – understanding insufficient glandular tissue
Little is known about how many women are truly unable to make a full milk supply to enable them to exclusively breastfeed. And yet, insufficient milk supply is a commonly reported reason why women cease breastfeeding prematurely. In this presentation Renee discusses one cause of primary insufficient milk supply – insufficient glandular tissue (IGT). The possible causes of IGT and treatment options for the endocrinological issues related to primary low milk supply will be discussed. Optimising breastfeeding management in the context of IGT will also be discussed.
Meg Prior, B Psych (hons) (Australia):
Unsettled Babies, Unsettled Mothers
This presentation will explore various factors that contribute to infant unsettledness. We will attempt to distinguish between “normal” unsettledness that may be expected with a newborn and will discuss a range of frameworks that may be helpful for a clinician in helping a mother to understand and respond to their child’s distress. We will also discuss more problematic unsettledness and the impact of maternal mental illness on recognising and responding to infant distress. Finally we explore a case study to provide an example of how some of these approaches may work in practice.

Nerida Haines (Australia):
Helpline 10th Birthday
The Australian Breastfeeding Association has been delivering a National, high quality, highly regarded telephone helpline to support breastfeeding mothers and their families for over 10 years. In this webinar, Nerida will share lots of information and statistics about the National Breastfeeding Helpline - the volunteers, the journey, how the service works, the number of calls, where they are coming from, who is calling, why they are calling and how ABA volunteers support the callers. Nerida will introduce delegates to ABA's latest helpline service, LiveChat and share early stats and information coming out of this service.