Advances in Lactation Management 2025

presented by Michigan Association of Lactation Consultants (MALC)

• Elizabeth Montez
• Kathleen Stenlund
• Neeru Ramaswami

Join us for an exciting event focused on the latest advances in lactation management! This in-person gathering will take place at The Cadillac Room in Lansing, MI, USA. Whether you're a lactation professional, a perinatal worker, healthcare professional, or interested in pursuing a lactation profession, this event is perfect for you. Don’t miss this chance to deepen your practice with evidence-based tools, expert insight, and culturally responsive frameworks. Expand your knowledge and network with like-minded individuals during this incredible opportunity to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in lactation management!

Elizabeth Montez, ILC, IBCLC

Neeru Ramaswami, BDS, MS, MPH, FAAPD

Kathleen Stenlund, DO, IBCLC

An application has been made for this continuing education activity to the Ohio Nurses Association, an Ohio Board of Nursing approver. (OBN-001-91).

It has also been approved by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners for 5.0 L-CERPs and 1.5 E-CERPs (Continuing Education Recognition Points), Approval #C2025550. Participants must sign in, attend the entire activity, and submit an evaluation form. Elizabeth Montez, Kathleen Stenlund, and Neeru Ramaswami acknowledge they have no actual or potential conflicts of interest to declare related to this program

The Cadillac Room

https://thecadillacroom.com/

1115 S Washington Ave, Lansing, MI 48910

Onsite free parking is available in the lots south and west of The Cadillac Room as well as street parking.

The following hotels are in close proximity to the venue, though others are also available.

111 N Grand Ave, Lansing, MI 48933

(517) 482-0188

Courtyard by Mariott Lansing Downtown

600 E Michigan Ave, Lansing, MI 48912

(517) 367-6677

For questions about this event or contact hours please contact: [email protected]

MALC is an affiliate of USLCA. Its purpose is to create opportunities for education, networking, professional support, and recognition of the promotion and practice of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants and other lactation supporters.

All Vendors and Exhibitors participating in the conference have agreed to follow the guidelines of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes, the WHO Code.

Join today or renew your membership with your conference registration!

To learn more about MALC, visit:

w ww.michiganassociationoflactationconsultants.org

Info: Lactation care doesn’t begin and end at the breast—it lives within a broader landscape of nourishment, tradition, and justice. This session invites clinical lactation providers to explore food sovereignty as a lens for understanding and addressing infant feeding disparities, particularly among Black and Indigenous families. Centering the importance of cultural food practices during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, as well as the recognition of human milk as the starting point for food justice, we will examine how traditional nourishment supports thriving.
Participants will also explore how systemic barriers—colonization, racism, targeted formula marketing, and disrupted food systems—have contributed to inequities in infant feeding outcomes. Through this lens, lactation support becomes not only a clinical service but also an act of equity and advocacy—one that uplifts food traditions, centers family dignity, &aligns with broader movements for nutrition justice and cultural sovereignty.

Info: Galactagogues are often approached as clinical tools, but what if they are also relational allies? This session invites IBCLCs to reframe their understanding of galactagogues by integrating evidence-based practice with a relational model rooted in kinship, cultural respect, and plant knowledge.
Participants will explore the use of galactagogues through both clinical discernment and a deepened relationship with the plant world. Drawing on traditional healing systems, ethnobotany, and modern lactation science, this session will highlight how practitioners can support lactating families in ways that honor both physiological needs and ancestral plant wisdom. Emphasis will be placed on individualized care planning, contraindications, and ethical considerations in herbal support.

Info: How Restrictions Affect Feeding and How OMT Can Help. Breastfeeding challenges are common, and latch dysfunction is often at the root. While tongue tie or maternal technique are frequently discussed, biomechanical restrictions in the newborn’s musculoskeletal system are often overlooked. This session explores the role of normal biomechanics in latch and how restrictions—such as cranial, cervical, and jaw misalignments—can impair feeding. Participants will learn to recognize key biomechanical barriers that present as poor suction, discomfort, or difficulty maintaining latch. The session will also introduce Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) as an effective intervention to address these restrictions, restore alignment, and improve feeding outcomes for affected newborns.

Info: A comprehensive, evidence-based exploration of tongue tie (ankyloglossia) and its impact on infant breastfeeding. Participants will examine the anatomical and functional characteristics of tongue tie, learn to recognize clinical signs affecting latch, milk transfer, and maternal comfort, and apply validated assessment tools to guide clinical decision-making. Emphasis is placed on differentiating significant from non-significant restrictions, implementing supportive care strategies, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among lactation consultants, pediatricians, pediatric dentists, speech-language pathologists, and other professionals. The course also reviews current research and guidelines regarding frenotomy and frenuloplasty procedures, including indications, risks, and post-release care. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to counsel families effectively, develop individualized care plans, and optimize breastfeeding outcomes for affected dyads.

Info: Moving beyond the conventional “breast is best vs fed is best” framework, the presentation examines how the lactation relationship offers powerful lessons in traditional practices of body autonomy, consent, intuitive eating, gut health, and the rejection of colonial scarcity mindsets. Grounded in both clinical expertise and Indigenous knowledge systems, this talk emphasizes lactation as a path to restoring community care and fostering generational health. Designed for lactation professionals of all levels, the session will also offer opportunities to deepen clinical insight through an Indigenous lens, exploring how to align technical skills with culturally grounded, relationship-based approaches to care.

Participants will leave with a renewed understanding of their role in the broader lactation ecosystem—one that supports not only infant health, but also family empowerment, cultural continuity, and intergenerational healing.

Host or Publisher Michigan Association of Lactation Consultants (MALC)