Study day 1: Anatomy and physiology
- Breast and nipple structure and development
- Breast and nipple anatomical variations (including inverted nipples)
- Physiology and endocrinology (hormones, lactogenesis, endocrine/autocrine control of milk supply)
- Breastfeeding cultural beliefs and practices around the world, including the WHO Code and the UNICEF Baby friendly hospital initiative
Study day 2: Position and attachment
- Physiology of the suck/swallow/breathe triad
- Getting breastfeeding started with evidence-based care
- The diversity of position and attachment (mother/parent and baby-led approaches)
- Latch problems and how to improve (including inverted nipples)
- Strategies for non-latching babies

Study day 3: Breast milk composition
- Maternal and infant's health risks of formula feeding
- Biochemistry of human milk: nutritional and immunological properties
- Oversupply and its management
- Colic, reflux, GERD, allergies, food intolerances and lactose intolerance in the breastfed baby
Study day 4: Breast and nipple pain + related pathologies
- Understanding breast and nipple pain/trauma
- Engorgement, Plugged ducts, Mastitis, Abscess, Bacterial + Fungal Infections and Raynaud's syndrome (indluding non-white skin tones)
- Other breast pathologies
- Available evidence-based treatments based on NICE guidelines and Complementary Alternative Medicine

Study day 5: Breast surgeries and management of undersupply
- Breastfeeding after augmentation surgery
- Breastfeeding after reduction surgery
- Insufficient milk supply/insufficient milk transfer and their management
- Social/family context of nursing and the post natal adaption continium
Study day 6: Research and ethics
- Research, theory and lactation
- How to appraise research
- Ethics: standards/scope of practice
- Real ethical case scenarios: how to respond from our moral compass as IBCLCs

Study day 7: Introduction to Ankyloglossia (Tongue-Tie)
- Anatomy of the infant oral cavity
- Classification and assessment tools of the lingual frenulum
- Intraoral examinations
- Impact of restricted frenulums on the feeding dyad
- Supporting the dyad through the journey: pre and post division
Study day 8: Feeding devices
- Expressing protocols (including hand expression and colostrum harvesting)
- Alternative methods of supplementation and other feeding devices
- Donor milk banking
- Support for re-lactation and induced lactation

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Study day 9: Working and weaning
- Weaning: mother-led and biological
- Abrupt weaning after stillbirth
- Working while breastfeeding
- Developmental stages within breastfeeding (by invited author Emma Pickett, IBCLC)
Study day 10: Prematurity, feeding challenges and Impact of birth
- Premies and late preterm babies
- Dyads with other feeding challenges including:
– Downs syndrome
– Infants with clefts - Impact of birth practices
- Antenatal preparation

Study day 11: Newborn assessment + Paediatric conditions
- Newborn assessment: physical and behavioural including neonatal reflexes
- Hypoglycemia
- Hyperbilirubinemia
- The use of medication while nursing
Study day 12: Counselling/communication skills and connection (with invited teacher Benaifer Bhandari) + researcher Kate Luxion's webinar
- Right and left brain approaches for effective communication/counselling
- The alchemy of connection
- Mindfulness approaches for better communication
- Chest/body-feeding, supporting LCBTQAI+ families and the use of inclusive language (by invited researcher Kate Luxion, MFA, MPH, LCCE, FHEA)

Study day 13: Breastsleep, Consultations and Exam prep.
- "Breastsleep", bed-sharing and SIDS
- The anatomy of a consultation: theory and practice role play examples
- Preparing for the IBCLC examination (overview and strategies)
- How much have you learnt: Role play of real clinical cases
- Mock exam!
Course content might vary slightly according to the needs of the study day.
Babies welcome
We endorse the Innocenti Declaration and believe that observing feeding dyads is a central part of lactation education. Therefore, babies in arms (up to 6 months old) are welcome to all our in-person courses. As a matter of courtesy, if your baby becomes too loud or disrupts the session, it might be better to step outside.