Enhancing Lactation Care after Stillbirth and Infant Loss Workshop

The Centre for Arts and Social Transformation (CAST) and The Liggins Institute would like to extend an invitation to all healthcare researchers and professionals to join our workshop and research project, titled “Enhancing Lactation Care after Stillbirth and Infant Loss: A workshop with the Lactation After Loss Quilt”, led by CAST’s Honorary Associate Professor Katherine Carroll.

Engagement with the quilt and other healthcare professionals in this facilitated workshop seeks to transform hospital- and community-based lactation care provision for bereaved families. The research-based Lactation After Loss Quilt is a handmade botanically dyed quilt that features the words of bereaved parents and their experiences of lactation and decision making after stillbirth and infant death.

The facilitated workshop will include a viewing of the research-based textile artefact the ‘Lactation After Loss Commemorative Quilt’, a sharing of research findings from Australia on lactation and donation experiences after loss, and an opportunity for collegial learning and discussion among health professionals practicing in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This workshop is also a research project conducted by Dr Mariana Muelbert (The Liggins Institute) and A/Prof. Katherine Carroll (Australian National University) that investigates how textile arts and object-based learning can assist in the education and training of health professionals, and how this approach could be adapted to the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Please see information statement and consent form for more information.

Two workshops will be run, please only register for one workshop:

• Tuesday 17 March 2026, 3pm - 4.30pm
• Thursday 19 March 2026, 10am - 11.30am

These workshops are part of a research project currently pending ethics approval. We invite you to pre-register to indicate your interest and help us with planning.

Once ethics approval is granted, all pre-registered participants will receive a follow-up email with an information sheet and consent form to confirm your place.

If you decide not to participate at that stage, or if we do not receive a signed consent form, your pre-registration will be treated as withdrawn.

Please note that this event will touch on themes of infant loss and miscarriage, which may feel distressing for some attendees. Please prioritise your wellbeing and make use of support resources as needed.

Here is a list of support services available in Aotearoa New Zealand.

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Host or Publisher CAST & Liggins Institute, University of Auckland