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As a part of our ongoing commitment to transform world health through breastfeeding and skilled lactation care, ILCA is honored to welcome Michele Griswold, PhD, MPH, RN, IBCLC as our new advocacy advisor.

This position was created in response to requests from members and partners to strengthen ILCA’s position and representation of breastfeeding and skilled lactation care issues globally. The Advocacy Advisor will provide strategic support to the organization, coordination across ILCA’s current liaisons and global partnerships and also work with volunteers to advance issues related to breastfeeding and skilled lactation care at the regional and country levels.

By creating this new role, ILCA also hopes to further support the advocacy work of its Partners and deepen its participation in major efforts such as the Global Breastfeeding Collective, which brings together implementers and donors from governments, philanthropies, international organizations, civil society and is led by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We are thrilled that Michele has agreed to step into this new role,” said ILCA President Mudiwah Kadeshe, MSN, RNC, LNC, IBCLC. “The additional coordination and support she will provide will serve to multiply many times over the critical efforts of our advocacy team.”

Griswold brings almost 20 years of experience in breastfeeding advocacy, including leading her state breastfeeding coalition’s policy and advocacy efforts. She has also held leadership positions in ILCA’s advocacy work since 2011. Specifically, she served as Chair of the former Global Outreach Committee, as an ILCA Liaison to the United Nations, and in 2014, was elected as Global Outreach Director to ILCA’s Board. Under her leadership, ILCA became engaged with the Global Breastfeeding Collective and NetCode, and she represented ILCA at key global meetings. As the outgoing ILCA board president, she also brings a deep knowledge of ILCA as an institution and how to best leverage ILCA’s strengths to support advocacy efforts.

“Advancing breastfeeding on the global agenda can have a powerful impact locally, both for families seeking skilled lactation support and for professionals who deliver that care,” said Griswold. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to focus on amplifying the work of our advocacy team.”

This role will also increase ILCA’s capacity to provide the expert guidance of our community when matters of breastfeeding are addressed at the global scale. “Lactation consultants are experts in the clinical support of breastfeeding families,” Griswold added. “Our collective knowledge should inform decision making surrounding global policies directly impacting breastfeeding families in our care.”

To contact Michele, please email her at michelegriswold@ilca.org.

We here at ILCA^® regularly answer questions about whose role it is to provide support for our profession of lactation consulting, for our credential known as the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant^®, and for the education that gives us what we need to provide evidence-based care.

Like many professions, lactation consultants are supported by three “pillars,” each with its own dedicated organization providing services and benefits to practitioners.

Generally speaking, the three pillars are support for the profession, development of the certification examination and oversight of the certification program , and standards for education. We hope this post clarifies the three pillars and the three independent organizations that support each pillar.

Pillar of support for the IBCLC credential: International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE)

Answers questions like “How do I become an IBCLC?” and “How do I maintain my certification?”

Established in 1985, IBLCE “establishes the highest standards in lactation and breastfeeding care worldwide and certifies individuals who meet these standards.” The organization is responsible for developing, administering, and maintaining the IBCLC certification program. This means that IBLCE defines eligibility and recertification requirements develops  a psychometrically sound professional examination, and maintains an ethics & disciplinary process for stakeholders, including the public. As the certification board, IBLCE confers the IBCLC credential.

Practically speaking, IBLCE is the standards keeper for the IBCLC. It determines what makes someone an IBCLC. IBCLE decides what is essential knowledge and then they test candidates to see if they know it.

Learn more about IBLCE’s work here.

Pillar of support for standards in education: Lactation Education Accreditation and Approval Review Committee (LEAARC):

Answers questions like “Is this coursework for becoming an IBCLC meeting my needs?”

LEAARC “establishes standards and recognizes quality in lactation education worldwide.” The organization is responsible for reviewing and recognizing didactic (instructional) and clinical courses as well as recommending to the Commission on Accreditation of
Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) the accreditation of lactation programs in postsecondary institutions. This means that they make sure the programs and courses to guide candidates into the profession meet LEAARC and CAAHEP standards and that graduates are able to provide a similar level of care to families.

Practically speaking, LEAARC makes sure you are getting what you need from lactation courses and programs. When someone decides to pursue becoming an IBCLC and enrolls in course work, if the course they have chosen is recognized by LEAARC, they can be assured that they will receive an education designed to comprehensively meet their educational needs.

Learn more about LEAARC’s work here.

Pillar of support for the profession: International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA):

Answers questions like: “How can I get the knowledge and tools I need to do my job better?” and “How can I increase my involvement in supporting breastfeeding families around the world?”

ILCA seeks “to advance the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant profession worldwide through leadership, advocacy, professional development, and research.” The organization is responsible for making sure that, when breastfeeding is being discussed around the world, IBCLCs are at the table. This means that we are working hard to make sure IBCLCs have the tools and community they need to support families.

Practically speaking, ILCA is a member organization that provides education, tools, and a premier lactation journal to its members, helping them to keep up-to-date with the latest information they need. ILCA also champions the IBCLC and lactation professionals at important conversations around the world, including the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), UNICEF, World Health Organization, and the Global Breastfeeding Collective, a partnership of more than 20 prominent international agencies calling on donors, policy makers, and civil society to increase investment in breastfeeding worldwide.

Learn more about our work at ILCA here.

Breast milk or human milk? Skin-to-skin or skin to skin? To guide the International Lactation Consultant Association® (ILCA®) in its usage of common terms in our profession, ILCA developed the ILCA Style Guidelines for Written Professional Resources in 2015. This document was produced to guide the development of ILCA’s professional materials (though others in the field of lactation may wish to adopt the Preferred Usage section for their written materials). These guidelines have recently undergone an update, including a change in the preferred style guide and efforts to better align with ILCA’s Core Values of Diversity and Equity.

Style Guide Conversion

Among the changes that Joan E. Dodgson, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN made when she took on the mantel of Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of Human Lactation (JHL) was a broadening of the journal’s content to address humanities and social science research in addition to health science research. With that expansion came a change in the JHL style guidelines from the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), Sixth Edition.

The International Lactation Consultant Association^® (ILCA^®) also made the decision to convert its style guidelines from AMA format to APA format. But that is not the only change to ILCA’s style standards.

Aligning with ILCA’s Core Values of Diversity and Equity

The new ILCA Style Guidelines for Written Professional Resources is now a dynamic document that will be updated periodically as part of ILCA’s implementation of the Strategic Map. This implementation includes increasingly manifesting our Core Values of Diversity and Equity. Valuing diversity here at ILCA means that “we foster an inclusive environment that supports leadership, advocacy, professional development, and research from varied perspectives.” And valuing equity means that “we support global access to skilled lactation care and the IBCLC profession.”

As an international organization, our members, colleagues, and Global Partners represent a variety of social groups, countries, and languages, including different versions of English. As English is the primary language used for ILCA publications, this update of the ILCA Style Guidelines for Written Professional Resources addresses the different spelling of words that are specific to British English versus U.S. English:

When sole authors submit a document for publication by ILCA, their use of spellings specific to either British English or U.S. English will be maintained. Prior to jointly submitting a co-authored document for publication by ILCA, co-authors must gain consensus on whether spellings specific to either British English or U.S. English will be used; their consensus will be maintained when the document is published by ILCA.

And, in recognition of the diversity in gender identity around the world, this style update also begins incorporating gender inclusive language. The vast majority of lactation-related literature refers to mothers breastfeeding, without using language which acknowledges that transgender fathers and genderqueer parents may breastfeed, chestfeed, or lactate. As Aiden Farrow stated in their JHL article Lactation Support in the LGBTQ Community, “Cisnormativity is manifested in institutional erasure and practices that ‘exclude or ignore the possibility of providing service to trans clients, such as the predominant use, within the lactation profession, of female gendered language when referring to breastfeeding parents.” So, the ILCA Style Guidelines for Written Professional Resources seeks to end this erasure in ILCA publications by including Preferred Usage entries such as:

breastfeeding (not “nursing,” when referring solely to a breastfeeding mother or a parent of any gender who prefers this term)

breastfeeding/chestfeeding (preferred over “breastfeeding” when referring to parents of any gender directly feeding at the breast/chest)

breast milk (two words); use of “human milk” is preferred; “mother’s own milk,” “father’s own milk,” “parent’s own milk,” or “expressed milk” may be used

chestfeeding (not chest-feeding)

father (not an informal alternative such as “dad,” “da,” or “papa”)

father–infant or father–infant dyad, with a dash (not “father–baby”)

The new ILCA Style Guidelines for Written Professional Resources are the result of collaborative editing by Kathleen Marinelli, ILCA Director, Cynthia Good Mojab, ILCA Education Manager, and Brit Stamey, Client Manager and Senior Copy Editor with J&J Editorial, LLC. Review was provided by the ILCA Professional Development Committee and the Equity Committee. The ILCA Board of Directors approved the guidelines in December 2016. As we increasingly address issues of diversity and equity in all that we do, we welcome your feedback.

 العنوان : البورد العالمي للرضاعة الطبيعية يصنع فارقاً في العالم من حولنا مركز البداية للرضاعة الطبيعية وتوعية المرأة

We are thrilled to announce the signing of the 16th National-Regional Partner agreement with Albidayah Breastfeeding Resource and Women’s Awareness Center (Albidayah Center). The ILCA Global Partners Initiative was designed to both support and elevate the work of organizations like Albidayah Center around the globe. By creating linkages between Albidayah Center, the 15 other National-Regional Partners, and the global breastfeeding agenda, we can support the efforts of IBCLCs to implement the six primary interventions that are proven to increase breastfeeding rates.

In today’s Lactation Matters, we interview Modia Batterjee, DHA., LC. about Albidayah Center and the impact of the Global Partner Initiative in her community.

لقد أثار حماسنا كثيراً توقيع إتفاقية الشراكة القومية مع مركز البداية للرضاعة الطبيعية وتوعية المرأة . تشكلت مبادرة الشراكة العالمية مع ILCA مع المنظمات ( مثل مركز البداية) بهدف دعم وتطوير عمل مثل هذه المنظمات المنتشرة حول العالم. عن طريق خلق صلات ترابط بين مركز البداية وبين الأجندة الدولية للرضاعة الطبيعية ، سنتمكن من دعم الجهود الحثيثة المبذولة من قبل IBCLCs لتنفيذ التداخلات الأساسية الستة التي ثبت أنها تزيد من الرضاعة الطبيعية .

وفي شؤون الرضاعة اليوم،نعقد اللقاء مع الدكتورة موضي عبدالمجيد بترجي . للتناقش حول مركز البداية وأثر مبادرة الشريك الدولي في محيطها .

Lactation Matters: Tell us about why Albidayah Breastfeeding Resource and Women’s Awareness Center (Albidayah Center) is so important to human health in Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Modia Batterjee: Breastfeeding rates in Saudi Arabia are low with little marked increase in the last 20 years. Over 97% of mothers deliver in hospitals as home births are discouraged, yet in the last 20 years only 7% of our hospitals have ever received the BFHI designation. If surveyed it would seem that most Saudi women feel a religious obligation to breastfeed, however they have little social or health care support to do so. Since the advent of the oil boom in the 1970’s, formula companies have targeted this region. Their influence and financial sponsorship has lead to convincing most women and health professionals that formula feeding is equivalent to or better than breastmilk. As a result, when mothers do manage to breastfeed partial breastfeeding is the norm; mothers breastfeed and supplement with formula especially during night feeds. Meanwhile, illness rates directly related to the lack of breastfeeding continually rise and are reaching epidemic heights; diabetes, hypertension, obesity, learning disabilities etc. AlBidayah is the only breastfeeding resource center available to mothers and medical professionals in the Kingdom.

شؤون الرضاعة : حدثينا حول سبب الأهمية البالغة لمركز البداية للرضاعة الطبيعية وتوعية المرأة فيما يتعلق بصحة الإنسان في المملكة العربية السعودية ؟

د/ موضي : شهدت المملكة العربية السعودية إنخفاضاً في معدلات الرضاعة الطبيعية مع مؤشرات قليلة بزيادتها خلال العشرين عاماً الماضية، هناك أكثر من 97% من الأمهات يضعن أطفالهن في المستشفيات أو في المنازل لايتم تشجيعهن على القيام بالرضاعة الطبيعية ،ففي السنوات العشرين الأخيرة ،فقط 7% من مستشفياتنا قد تلقت برنامج مبادرة رعاية الرُضع. وإذا تم إستطلاع الرأي،سنجد لدى أغلب النساء السعوديات الشعور بأن الرضاعة الطبيعية واجباً دينياً ،على الرغم من عدم حصولهن على الرعاية الإجتماعية والصحية التي تؤهلهن للقيام بهذا. ومنذ تفجر الأرض بالبترول في أوائل السبعينيات من القرن العشرين ، أصبحت المنطقة هدفاً واضحاً لشركات إنتاج الألبان الصناعية . ولقد قامت هذه الشركات وبما تملكه من دعم مادي بإقناع معظم الأمهات وكذلك خبراء التغذية بأن الألبان الصناعية مكافئة تماماً أو حتى أفضل من لبن الرضاعة الطبيعية. ونتيجة لهذا الأمر،مارست النساء الرضاعة الطبيعية بشكل جزئي، وذلك بإقران الرضاعة الطبيعية بالرضاعة الصناعية ، حيث تكمل كل منهما الأخرى، ويلجآن الى الرضاعة الصناعية خاصة في المساء. خلال ذلك، تزايدت معدلات المرض بالإقتران مع تناقص معدلات الرضاعة الطبيعية، لتصل إلى معدلات وبائية، في أمراض مثل البول السكري، إرتفاع ضغط الدم،السمنة، والعديد من الأمراض الأخرى. مركز البداية هو المركز الوحيد للرضاعة الطبيعية المتاح للأمهات وللخبراء بالمملكة العربية السعودية كلها .

LM: What challenges do you face in your work?

MB: Regulatory status is an ongoing problem in Saudi Arabia, and a further lack of legal licensing for lactation centers. Unfortunately, the Saudi government has yet to recognize breastfeeding as a healthcare issue. Mothers are overwhelmed with marketing and a multitude of products available. There is a lost generation of those women who are now grandmothers, who did not breastfeed and do not provide support to their daughters. Most often these grandmothers actively work to discourage their daughters as breastfeeding is seen as something that interferes with social activities and has become identified with a lower class thing to do. So, we are fighting with the lack of government support, social issues and customs that have moved far away from active mothering.

شؤون الرضاعة : ماهي التحديات التي تواجهك في عملك؟

الوضع القائم يشيء بإستمرار المشكلة في المملكة العربية السعودية ، ومما يزيد الأمر سوءاً هو قلة التصاريح القانونية لمراكز الرضاعة . وللأسف، فإن حكومة المملكة العربية السعودية تتعامل مع الرضاعة الطبيعية حديثاً كأحد مفردات الرعاية الصحية . تغرق الأمهات وسط بحر من المنتجات الغزيرة. ونتج عن هذا الأمر وجود جيل من النساء بلغن منازل الجدات اليوم، ممن لم يحظين بالرضاعة الطبيعية ، كما لم يطلعن بناتهن على مدى أهمية الرضاعة الطبيعية . ومعظم هؤلاء الجدات يعملن سريعاً على عدم تشجيع بناتهن للقيام بالرضاعة الطبيعية لأحفادهن، وحصر الأمر في سياق إجتماعي ، على سبيل أن الرضاعة الطبيعية أحد الأفعال التي تمارسها نساء طبقات الدونية، والتي لايجب أن تمارسها بناتهن ، لذلك ، فإننا الآن نحارب مع الدعم الضعيف الذي نلقاه من الحكومة السعودية، وفي الوقت نفسه نحارب المعتقدات والمفاهيم الإجتماعية السائدة ، والتي تبعد تمام البعد عن الأمومة وممارساتها.

LM: Why did your organization decide to become an ILCA National-Regional Partner?

MB: I have been an IBCLC for 10 years and yet have never received recognition as a professional licensed to work in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it seemed important to connect our center with ILCA to validate the work we do and to be in a position to advocate for Lactation Consultants (LC), train and expand the possibilities to have more LCs in our part of the world.

شؤون الرضاعة : لماذا إتخذت منظمتكم القرار بأن تكون شراكة إقليمية مع ILCA ؟

د/ موضي : لقد سبق لي العمل كخبيرة رضاعة طبيعية برخصة استشارية من المنظمة IBCLC لمدة عشر سنوات كاملة ، ولم أحصل مطلقاً على إعتراف كخبيرة مصرح لها بالعمل في المملكة العربية السعودية. لذلك، بدى من المهم للغاية أن يتم التواصل بين مركزنا وبين ILCA من أجل “شرعنة” العمل الذي نقوم به وكي نتخذ موقعنا للدفاع عن خبراء الإرضاع، ودعمهم بالتدريب والتوسع في إمكانياتهم من أجل توسيع القاعدة العريضة من خبراء الإرضاع في العالم كله .

LM: What is your vision for breastfeeding support in Saudi Arabia?

MB: Every city and community needs access to proper breastfeeding information, material and support persons. We look forward to the day when breastfeeding becomes the norm again rather than the artificial-bottle feeding society we live in now.

شؤون الرضاعة : تُرى ، ماهي رؤيتك لدعم الرضاعة الطبيعية في المملكة العربية السعودية ؟

د . موضي بترجي : إن كل مدينة وكل مجتمع في حاجة ماسة إلى الحصول على معلومات حول موضوع الرضاعة الطبيعية ، والوصول إلى المواد والأشخاص الداعمين. نحن نتطلع إلى اليوم الذي تصبح فيه الرضاعة الطبيعية هي الإجراء الطبيعي كما كان من قبل، بدلاً من مجتمع هذه الأيام ، الذي تسود به زجاجة اللبن الصناعي .

Bio: Dr. Modia Batterjee has long provided a voice of advocacy and support in the international health community. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Batterjee has worked in both the United States and Saudi Arabia in the health and medical space with a variety of employers, including the United States Army Material Command, Dar Al Hekma College and the Al-Eman Cancer Society. She has served as an educator, teaching classes for college students, mothers and healthcare workers.

سيرة ذاتية :

د/ موضي عبدالمجيد بترجي ، قدمت العديد من التوعية الصوتية للأمور الصحية والداعمة لها على المستوى الدولي. لأكثر من عقد من الزمان ، عملت في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية وفي المملكة العربية السعودية في مجال الصحة والرعاية الطبية ، لدى العديد من الهيئات المتنوعة، ومن بينها الجيش الأمريكي، وجامعة دار الحكمة ، ومحاضرة ومعلمة لطلبة الجامعات، والأمهات، وكذلك العاملين في مجال الصحة.

ILCA has just achieved another important milestone in signing its 15th National—Regional Partner agreement with Shanghai YUREN Breastfeeding Promotion Center (SYBPC) based in Shanghai, China. Click here to learn more about the ILCA Partner Initiative and the 14 other Partners.

ILCA 最近和中国上海育人母乳喂养促进中心（SYBPC）签订了国际区域合作伙伴协议，这是本协会签订的第15个国际区域合作伙伴，也是协会发展历史上的又一个重要里程碑。

ILCA is thrilled with the prospect of what lies ahead for this collaboration and the shared impact we may have on breastfeeding in China. We asked SYBPC founder, Yuwen Ren MD, to share some of her insights into the organization and why this agreement is so meaningful.

本协会对这一合作的前景和对中国母乳喂养的影响感到万分激动。我们特此采访SYBPC的创始人任钰雯，请她分享一些关于SYBPC组织的情况，和对于合作意义的见解。

Lactation Matters (LM): Tell us about why Shanghai YUREN Breastfeeding Promotion Center (SYBPC) is so important to human health in China.

LM: 请谈一下为什么上海育人母乳喂养促进中心对中国的人群健康是非常重要的？

Yuwen Ren (YR): SYBPC is the first NGO in China to provide 90 hours of breastfeeding-specific education courses for healthcare providers (HCPs) to become International Board Certified Lactation Consultants® (IBCLC®)s. Past students have come from 19 different provinces and cities in China.

YR: 上海育人母乳喂养促进中心是中国首家NGO对医护人员提供90小时的母乳喂养专项教育，帮助她们成为国际认证哺乳顾问。在过去，我们的学员覆盖了中国19个省。

In China, on average, there are more than 15,000 newborn babies delivered every year in a 3A hospital, and around 10,000 babies per year in a 2A hospital. In 2015, 26 participating students passed their exams and became IBCLCs. They are all HCPs who are working in either a 3A or a 2A hospital. They had, and will continue to have, great impact on promoting breastfeeding in China, including in the big cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc.

在中国，一家三级甲等医院的年分娩量超过1万5千，二级甲等医院的年分娩量也在1万左右。在2015年，我们有26位学员通过考试成为了国际认证哺乳顾问。她们都是工作在这些三级甲等或二级甲等医院里的医护人员，而且大多数在大城市，比如上海，北京和深圳。她们已经，并且会持续地对中国的母乳喂养促进发挥巨大的影响。

We also trained some of our students to become trainers and helped them to design educational courses in their own hospital or local area. We are now recognized by hospitals across the country and have received numerous invitations for our courses. We’re very confident that our students will cover all 30 provinces and cities in the next three years.

我们还培训了我们的学生成为讲师，帮助她们在自己的医院或地区设计教育课程。我们的培训被全国各地的医院认可，并已收到许多邀请，希望我们到他们医院进行母乳喂养专项培训。我们非常有信心，在未来的三年内，我们的学生将覆盖全国30个省市。

Starting in Summer 2015, we launched a project to establish breastfeeding-friendly communities, which is supported by the local government. In one such community, we have trained 30 local government employees to provide outreach to 500 families. We already have three cities participating in the project.

2015年夏天开始，我们推出了一个建立母乳喂养友好社区的项目，该项目获得当地政府的支持。在这样的一个社区项目里，我们已经培训了30名当地政府工作人员，预计可以为500个家庭提供服务。我们已经有了三个城市参加这个项目。

LM: What challenges do you face in your work?

LM: 你在工作中面临什么样的挑战？

YR: SYBPC is a very young organization. Our staff and volunteers work very hard to achieve our goals. We have a regular training program for them as well. Because we have so many ongoing and planned projects all over China, we need more people to join us.

YR: SYBPC是一个非常年轻的组织。我们的工作人员和志愿者正在非常努力地实现我们的目标。于此同时，我们对他们有一个定期的培训计划。因为我们有很多正在进行和计划进行的全国性项目，我们需要更多的人加入我们。

LM: Why did your organization decide to become an ILCA National—Regional Partner?

LM: 你的组织为什么决定要成为本协会合作伙伴？

YR: ILCA is a well known international organization with 30 years of history, with which we share similar ideology and thoughts regarding breastfeeding promotion. We hope our decision can help both of us to provide more up-to-date information to Chinese people. We believe this two-way bridge will be a win—win collaboration for both ILCA and SYBPC.

YR: ILCA是一个知名的国际组织，具有30多年的历史。同时，与我们在母乳喂养推广方面有着相似的理念和思想。我们希望这个合作的决定能有助于双方向中国提供更多的最新信息。我们相信这种双向的桥梁将是ILCA和SYBPC一个双赢的合作。

We believe, together with ILCA, we can write a whole new chapter in breastfeeding promotion in China, and at a global level as well. We also feel excited that we can share our experiences with other partners. We foresee that we can learn a lot from each other.

我们相信，与ILCA一起，可以翻开母乳喂养在中国和全球推广一个全新的篇章。同时我们也为可以与其他合作伙伴分享经验而感到激动。可以预见，合作伙伴之间可以互相学习很多东西。

LM: What is your vision for breastfeeding support in China?

LM: 什么是你对中国母乳喂养促进的愿景？

YR: Breastfeeding promotion is very challenging, not only in China, but also worldwide. Our mission is to educate more health providers who can help mothers and babies have a good start in breastfeeding in hospitals. Meanwhile, we provide community education and support to expectant mothers and postpartum mothers discharged from the hospitals. Our vision is to create a natural, healthy, and robust environment and culture for breastfeeding in China.

YR: 促进母乳喂养是非常具有挑战性的，不仅在中国，而且在全世界。我们的使命是培养更多的医护人员，因为她们可以帮助母亲和婴儿在医院就有一个良好母乳喂

Yuwen Ren is the founder and director of the Shanghai YUREN Breastfeeding Promotion Center. She received her MD at the Beijing Medical University, China, and served as an anesthetist at the Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital. She also received her Master of Education at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. She became a La Leche League leader in 2007 and became an IBCLC in 2011. She is the first Chinese IBCLC in mainland China.

任钰雯是上海育人母乳喂养促进中心的创始人和理事长。她毕业于中国北京医科大学，并上海第一妇婴医院担任麻醉科医师。她还在美国德克萨斯州大学奥斯汀分校获得教育学硕士。2007年她成为国际母乳会的哺乳辅导，在2011年成为国际认证哺乳顾问。她是中国大陆首位成为国际认证哺乳顾问的中国人。

Last July, The Lactation Education, Accreditation and Approval Review Committee (LEAARC), International Lactation Consultant Association® (ILCA®), and International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) hosted a Lactation Summit. The Summit was the first event of a multi-year initiative to explore equity and diversity in the lactation consultant profession.

The 2014 Summit brought together important voices from diverse ethnicities and perspectives to share real-life experiences, obstacles, and challenges of underrepresented groups across the globe. The proceedings served as a Needs Assessment to identify the issues, barriers, and stakeholders involved in equitable access to the lactation consultant profession. The day-long meeting included listening sessions and small workgroup activities to identify barriers and potential strategies for devising an action plan to address inequities that limit access to the profession.

Those proceedings have been summarized in a Summary Report. In the report IBLCE, ILCA, and LEAARC all express profound gratitude to those who “came from around the world speaking in support of the underrepresented voices by courageously sharing their own truths.”

We are sharing the summary of those proceedings with the goal to disseminate the voices who spoke, gather new voices, and listen to new feedback and input. We hope that you will share this document widely with anyone you think can benefit from hearing these perspectives or can add new insights.

Your impressions, feedback, and responses to the Summary Report are welcomed and encouraged. Please share those here. Your feedback will be shared with the Summit Design Team.

As the convening organizations said in a joint statement following the Summit: “This Summit was an important first step, and there is more to hear, to learn, and to do. We are deeply committed to continuing this conversation and dismantling the barriers that prevent access to the IBCLC profession worldwide as we work together for equitable solutions. We call on all of our constituents and partners to join us in this important work.”

Find the Lactation Summit Report here

Find the Lactation Summit Report: Executive Summary here

Share your feedback here

Please help us spread the word and gather new input by sharing this widely with anyone who may have input or insights to share. Thank you.