Breastfeeding Conferences

Breastfeeding conferences provide a wonderful experience for nursing mothers and lactation professionals alike! I attended my first conference when my nursling was just over a year old. At the opening session, I sighed with relief when the speaker started off her talk by saying, “Throughout the presentation, please feel free to nurse your babies as needed, move around the room, and play on the floor quietly.” Here was the perfect opportunity to commune with like-minded mothers and learn about a wide variety of breastfeeding, parenting and health topics, all in a supportive environment with baby in tow! For lactation professionals and aspiring lactation consultants, conferences also provide a way to earn continuing education credits.

You can choose to stay overnight at the conference location or simply drive daily to attend for one or two days. I have found it most fun to make a trip out of it. My family goes with me to the conferences and while I listen to lectures, my older children play with their dad and swim in the hotel pool! If cost is an issue, there are often scholarships available (ask the conference coordinators, your local breastfeeding group, or the professional association).

There are several La Leche League and professional association conferences coming up soon! Keep in mind that some conferences (LLL for example) are more kid-friendly than others and you should inquire about whether or not children are welcome to accompany you to the sessions. Here’s how to find a conference near you.

~ La Leche League lists area conferences in the U.S. at the LLLI webpage. Conferences in other countries generally are listed on the LLL homepage for that country.

~ There is an annual National Breastfeeding Conference in Canada sponsored by INFACT Canada, Toronto Public Health and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center. INFACT Canada also lists other conferences on its homepage.

~ The International Lactation Consultant Association has an annual conference for lactation professionals and others who assist mothers with breastdeeding.

~ The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) has a conference coming up in April 2010: “100 Years of Milk Banking: Looking Back, Reaching Forward.”

~ The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action also lists conferences on the WABA homepage, including the annual “Breastfeeding: Practice and Policy Courses” (PDF) in London.

~ Ask your local breastfeeding coalition about its conferences or others in your area!

~ There is a one-stop site for health care professionals to access worldwide continuing education credit opportunities: www.breastfeedingconferences.com. Organizers can list conferences there and those seeking continuing education credits can search by state, region, or type of continuing education credits.

Have you ever attended a breastfeeding conference? Which one? What was your experience like? Will you go again?