Expanding the Speech Pathologist’s Role in Infant Feeding and Swallowing: Understanding the Impact of Breastfeeding on Overall Health and Development in At-Risk Babies

This course focuses on the importance of the speech pathologist’s role in facilitating breastfeeding and providing breast milk to babies who are at-risk for feeding, health and developmental issues. Participants will understand what and why speech pathologists need to know about the process of lactation and the importance of collaboration with other health care professionals, such as board certified lactation consultants, to help families and babies establish breastfeeding. The differences between breast and bottle-feeding will be explored as well as the health benefits of breast milk for at-risk babies. Participants will also learn about how breastfeeding and other child-directed feeding approaches can impact oral structural development in babies. Feeding videos of at-risk babies will be used to demonstrate various assessment and intervention techniques.