Knowledge, Diversity, & Equity at #ILCA17

We are so grateful for the more than 750 people who came together to share #ILCA17. Whether you joined us virtually or face-to-face, we were honored to be with you as we explored the conference theme of Knowledge, Equity, Diversity: Global Access to Skilled Lactation Care.

Here is a quick recap of some of the images captured by you and by our photographer, Bill Ivy of the Nursing Moms Project.

Together, we shared critical knowledge for our field. Click below to get a recap of some of the plenary sessions via Twitter.

Plenary Session: Gender Diversity, Language, and Inclusion for Lactation Specialists (Aiden Farrow, IBCLC)

Plenary: Bridging the Research-Practice Gap (Sonia Semenic, PhD, RN)

Plenary: Advocacy for Breastfeeding and Skilled Lactation Care: Lessons from Around the World (Arun Gupta, MD, FIAP)

The Global Partners Panel: Furthering the Global Breastfeeding Agenda through Local, National, Regional, and International Advocacy (Arun Gupta, MD, FIAP; Zoe Faulkner, BA (Hons), IBCLC; Rosalie Sarasua, MA, IBCLC)

Plenary Session: The Evidence for Human Donor Milk (Sharon Unger, BSc, MD, FRCP)

ILCA President Michelle Griswold’s Address

Plenary Session: Diabetes and Antenatal Milk Expressing (DAME): A Randomised Controlled Trial (Anita Moorhead, RN, RM, IBCLC)

Plenary Session: Breast Cancer and Its Relationship to Breastfeeding (Fedro Peccatori, MD, PhD)

Plenary Session: Protecting Families from Misleading Marketing Practices Accountability through Human Rights (Marcus Stahlhofer, BSc, MSc)

We shared our gratitude for three departing board members, Sara Gill, Lisa Mandell, and Al Wolf. Want to learn more about what comes next for our outgoing leaders? Click here to read more and to thank Sara, Lisa, and Al.

Sharing Our Gratitude: Sara Gill Farewell Interview

Sharing Our Gratitude: Lisa Mandell Farewell Interview

Sharing Our Gratitude: Al Wolf Farewell Interview

We celebrated those who contribute to our ever-growing field of research through three awards:

Presenting the Patricia Martens Annual Award for Excellence in Breastfeeding Research: Cesar G. Victora

Presenting the Miriam Labbok New Investigator Award: Jason P. Bently

Presenting the Journal of Human Lactation Best Research Article with a Practice Focus Award: Vicky Fallon and Colleagues

We were also reminded that our field still has much work to do to achieve our goals of equity and diversity. We are grateful for the thoughtful conversations that took place, both those that were planned at conference sessions and meetings, and those that took place informally long into the nights in Toronto.

For those seeking additional resources around equity and lactation, here are a few resources:

ILCA’s commitment to the core value of equity

Pandora’s Box Is Already Open: Answering the Ongoing Call to Dismantle Institutional Oppression in the Field of Breastfeeding, Cynthia Good Mojab, MS, IBCLC, RLC, CATSM

The Lactation Equity Action Committee: A Brief History and ILCA’s Role

Lactation Professionals and Gender-Inclusive Language: An Interview with Aiden Farrow, IBCLC

Lactation Support and the LGBTQI Community

Equity in Breastfeeding: Where Do We Go from Here?

2014 Lactation Summit: Addressing Inequities in the Lactation Profession—Summary Report

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. United against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related intolerance