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Centre for Breastfeeding Education and Research

Course Content

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
Source: The Alchemy of Connection: An Essential Ingredient When Supporting Breastfeeding Dyads (Lopez-Bassols, 2019)



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
By Hannah Robertson, BFL Course student October 2019

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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.