Welcome to the Medela University

Several anatomical, metabolic, and psychosocial factors, not routinely identified in pregnancy are associated with reduced exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding. Identification of pregnant women at high risk of low milk production creates a window for early targeted education and intervention. This screening in combination with point-of-care milk testing that can detect delayed secretory activation, breast inflammation or infection, and low milk production, directly informs lactation care that may optimize breastfeeding outcomes. These advances in clinical lactation practice are urgent due to the increasing prevalence of pregnancy complications that we have found to be associated with low milk production. Furthermore, it is critical that fundamental research is carried out to elucidate which biological mammary gland pathways are dysregulated during these complications in order to develop evidence-based interventions to improve lactation outcomes. This program has been approved for 1.0 contact hours; provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, CEP 13692.   Presenter Prof. Donna T. Geddes, DMU, PhD Professor Geddes, from The University of Western Australia, is internationally renowned for her novel work with ultrasound imaging that has revolutionized the our understanding of the anatomy of the lactating breast, milk ejection and blood flow, as well as the infant’s sucking technique, suck-swallow-breathe co-ordination, gastric emptying and body composition of both the term and preterm infant. She has since expanded her range of research interests to include the synthesis and removal of milk from the breast, the composition of human milk and its impact on the growth and body composition of breastfed infants, the investigation of human milk metabolites and the search for biomarkers that are indicative of breast dysfunction. Read more

Medela’s Breastfeeding & Lactation Symposium 2023 featured a world-class agenda for healthcare professionals keen to learn about the latest scientific evidence in the field of human milk and lactation towards improving the quality of lactation care and infant feeding. The agenda included the following lectures: Lactation as a biological system: The dynamics of human milk composition (Prof. Lars Bode, USA) Lactation as a biological system: The importance of dose (Prof. Donna Geddes, Australia) A call to action: Improving human milk & breastfeeding outcomes by prioritizing effective initiation of lactation (Prof. Diane Spatz, USA) Initiation of lactation: Prophylactic lactation support as Standard of Care for mothers of NICU infants (Dr Rebecca Hoban, Canada) Improving survival & outcomes for preterm infants through optimizing early maternal breast milk: A national quality improvement toolkit from BAPM (Dr Sarah Bates) Prioritizing own mother‘s milk in the neonatal unit: Need for standardized metrics that capture lactation and infant feeding (Prof. Neena Modi)   This webinar features the lecture of Dr Rebecca Hoban: Initiation of lactation: Prophylactic lactation support as Standard of Care for mothers of NICU infants.    Dr Rebecca Hoban is a staff neonatologist and the Director of Breastfeeding Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children (“SickKids”) in Toronto, and an Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. Dr Hoban graduated from Indiana University School of Medicine and completed a paediatric residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, a neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship at Tufts University, and a MPH at Harvard before joining the Neonatology and Human Milk Research team at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Dr Hoban joined SickKids in 2017 as neonatology staff, with a focus on human milk. Current projects include improving mother’s milk provision in the NICU, milk biomarkers to predict lactation success, inflammatory markers in human milk, and fresh milk as potential stem cell therapy in premature infants with intraventricular haemorrhage.   This course is CPD (Continuing Professional Development) certified.  Read more

Medela’s Breastfeeding & Lactation Symposium 2023 featured a world-class agenda for healthcare professionals keen to learn about the latest scientific evidence in the field of human milk and lactation towards improving the quality of lactation care and infant feeding. The agenda included the following lectures: Lactation as a biological system: The dynamics of human milk composition (Prof. Lars Bode, USA) Lactation as a biological system: The importance of dose (Prof. Donna Geddes, Australia) A call to action: Improving human milk & breastfeeding outcomes by prioritizing effective initiation of lactation (Prof. Diane Spatz, USA) Initiation of lactation: Prophylactic lactation support as Standard of Care for mothers of NICU infants (Dr Rebecca Hoban, Canada) Improving survival & outcomes for preterm infants through optimizing early maternal breast milk: A national quality improvement toolkit from BAPM (Dr Sarah Bates) Prioritizing own mother‘s milk in the neonatal unit: Need for standardized metrics that capture lactation and infant feeding (Prof. Neena Modi)   This webinar features the lecture of Prof. Diane Spatz: A call to action: Improving human milk & breastfeeding outcomes by prioritizing effective initiation of lactation.    Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN is a Professor of Perinatal Nursing & the Helen M. Shearer Professor of Nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing sharing a joint appointment as a nurse researcher and director of the lactation program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the clinical coordinator of the CHOP Mothers’ Milk Bank.   This course is CPD (Continuing Professional Development) certified.  Read more

Medela’s Breastfeeding & Lactation Symposium 2023 featured a world-class agenda for healthcare professionals keen to learn about the latest scientific evidence in the field of human milk and lactation towards improving the quality of lactation care and infant feeding. The agenda included the following lectures: Lactation as a biological system: The dynamics of human milk composition (Prof. Lars Bode, USA) Lactation as a biological system: The importance of dose (Prof. Donna Geddes, Australia) A call to action: Improving human milk & breastfeeding outcomes by prioritizing effective initiation of lactation (Prof. Diane Spatz, USA) Initiation of lactation: Prophylactic lactation support as Standard of Care for mothers of NICU infants (Dr Rebecca Hoban, Canada) Improving survival & outcomes for preterm infants through optimizing early maternal breast milk: A national quality improvement toolkit from BAPM (Dr Sarah Bates) Prioritizing own mother‘s milk in the neonatal unit: Need for standardized metrics that capture lactation and infant feeding (Prof. Neena Modi)   This webinar features the lecture of Prof. Donna Geddes: Lactation as a Biological System: The Importance of Dose.    Professor Geddes is internationally renowned for her novel work with ultrasound imaging that has revolutionized the our understanding of the anatomy of the lactating breast, milk ejection and blood flow, as well as the infant’s sucking technique, suck-swallow-breathe co-ordination, gastric emptying and body composition of both the term and preterm infant. She has since expanded her range of research interests to include the synthesis and removal of milk from the breast, the composition of human milk and its impact on the growth and body composition of breastfed infants, the investigation of HM metabolites and the search for biomarkers that are indicative of breast dysfunction.   This course is CPD (Continuing Professional Development) certified.  Read more

Medela’s Breastfeeding & Lactation Symposium 2023 featured a world-class agenda for healthcare professionals keen to learn about the latest scientific evidence in the field of human milk and lactation towards improving the quality of lactation care and infant feeding. The agenda included the following lectures: Lactation as a biological system: The dynamics of human milk composition (Prof. Lars Bode, USA) Lactation as a biological system: The importance of dose (Prof. Donna Geddes, Australia) A call to action: Improving human milk & breastfeeding outcomes by prioritizing effective initiation of lactation (Prof. Diane Spatz, USA) Initiation of lactation: Prophylactic lactation support as Standard of Care for mothers of NICU infants (Dr Rebecca Hoban, Canada) Improving survival & outcomes for preterm infants through optimizing early maternal breast milk: A national quality improvement toolkit from BAPM (Dr Sarah Bates) Prioritizing own mother‘s milk in the neonatal unit: Need for standardized metrics that capture lactation and infant feeding (Prof. Neena Modi)   This webinar features the lecture of Prof. Lars Bode: Lactation as a biological system: The dynamics of human milk composition.    Dr. Lars Bode is Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology and Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics,and the Director of the LRF MOMI CORE at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. His laboratory focuses on human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), a group of complex sugar molecules that represent the third most abundant component of human milk after lactose and lipids. The goal of Dr. Bode’s research is to understand how HMOs are synthesized in the human mammary gland and how they benefit the breast-fed infant and potentially also the breastfeeding mother.   This course is CPD (Continuing Professional Development) certified.  Read more

This is the third module from the anatomy and physiology of the lactating breast series. In this lesson you will learn the science around secretory activation. Moreover, you will learn how lactocytes (milk-making cells)  activate milk synthesis  to establish a copious milk supply through: Early, frequent and effective breast stimulation during the critical window after birth. Evidence based care, established from an understanding of the basic principles of lactation and mammary gland function is imperative to improve breastfeeding rates and subsequently the health and wellbeing of breastfeeding women, infants’, and their families. This program has been approved for 1.0 contact hours; provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, CEP 13692. This course is CPD (Continuing Professional Development) certified.  Read more