Navigating Breastfeeding for Babies with Feeding Challenges
This presentation will instruct participants on the health, developmental and oral structural shaping benefits that breastfeeding can have on babies with special needs. Through lecture, discussion and video presentations of complicated breastfeeding cases, participants will better understand their vital role in understanding breastfeeding and educating families on the importance and impact of early feeding choices for their baby with special needs. Populations discussed will include: babies with Down syndrome, babies with medical conditions such as heart issues and TE fistula, babies with feeding aversion and babies with self-limiting feeding behavior. Management of breastfeeding babies who refuse the bottle will also be addressed. Interventional techniques, such as ‘bridge” feeding devices, positioning and the use of methods such as the Tummy Time!TM method will also be reviewed. Participants will be taught the impact of their role as facilitator and collaborator in assisting babies with special needs in transitioning to the breast with the goal of breastfeeding success and optimal health and developmental outcomes in our at-risk and feeding challenged patients.
This event will be held virtually via Zoom. The meeting link will be sent to registrants via email the day of the event. Please check your spam folder. Please note this event is taking place in Central Standard Time (Chicago/USA)
This course is being submitted for credit with the Illinois Early Intervention Program. Those who have paid for a professional ticket and are in attendance for the duration of the full event will receive a certificate of attendance for credit.
Jill Rabin is a pediatric speech pathologist and international board certified lactation consultant who has been working with the 0 to 3 year old population for 33 years. She is based in the north suburbs of Chicago where she has a private practice working with young babies and their families with feeding and speech/language issues. Her areas of specialty include facilitating breastfeeding in at-risk populations such as preterm infants and babies with Down syndrome, using the modified baby-led weaning approach to transition babies with special needs to solids and using child-directed feeding approaches to improve feeding skills in infants and babies with feeding aversion. She contributed two chapters to the book Breastfeeding and Down syndrome and has written three posts about breastfeeding and Down syndrome on the Julia’s Way website. Jill also wrote an essay and was quoted in the tenth anniversary edition of Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett’s Baby-Led Weaning book. She was featured as a guest on the Untethered Podcast episode 31 in December 2019 and spoke about feeding difficulties in children with special needs. Jill has done national and international webinars and presentations on the modified baby-led weaning approach, breastfeeding babies with special needs and managing feeding aversion in infants She also teaches classes about development and transitioning to solids to new parents at the New Mother New Baby lactation center located in Northbrook, Illinois.