Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D., IBCLC, FAPA

Expertise

  • Depression in Breastfeeding Mothers
  • Nighttime Parenting and Depression
  • Inflammation and Depression in Breastfeeding Mothers
  • Co-Sleeping, Bed-Sharing, and Breastfeeding
  • SIDS and Breastfeeding
  • Complementary and Alternative Breastfeeding Treatments
  • Diabetes and Breastfeeding
  • Lactation research
  • Medications and Breastfeeding
  • Obesity and Breastfeeding
  • Psychology of Breastfeeding
  • Herbs and Breastfeeding

Upcoming Conferences

  • Maine Lactation Consultant Association
    May 18, 2012
    Orono,
    Maine,
    United States
  • New Hampshire Breastfeeding Task Force
    May 22, 2012
    Lebanon,
    New Hampshire,
    United States
  • Holy Name Medical Center
    June 6, 2012
    Teaneck,
    New Jersey,
    United States
  • Northern New Jersey MCH Consortium
    June 6, 2012
    Teaneck,
    New Jersey,
    United States
  • June 24, 2012
    Dallas,
    Texas,
    United States
  • USLCA
    June 26, 2012
    Webinar,
    United States
  • July 25, 2012 - July 29, 2012
    Orlando,
    Florida,
    United States
  • American Psychological Association
    August 2, 2012 - August 5, 2012
    Orlando,
    Florida,
    United States
  • Feather River Hospital
    September 19, 2012
    Paradise,
    California,
    United States
  • September 22, 2012
    Toronto,
    Ontario,
    Canada
  • October 12, 2012
    Middlebury,
    Indiana,
    United States
  • Miller Children's Hospital
    October 18, 2012
    Long Beach,
    California,
    United States
  • October 25, 2012
    Greenville,
    South Carolina,
    United States

Previous Conferences

  • Mid-Hudson Lactation Consultant Association
    May 8, 2012
    Newburgh,
    New York,
    United States
  • Gold 2012
    May 1, 2012
    Webinar,
    Canada
  • April 30, 2012
    San Bernadino,
    California,
    United States
  • New York WIC
    April 24, 2012 - April 25, 2012
    Albany,
    New York,
    United States
  • West Michigan Lactation Consultants Association
    April 16, 2012
    Grand Rapids,
    Michigan,
    United States
  • Santa Barbara Public Health Department Perinatal Depression Conference
    April 12, 2012
    Santa Barbara,
    California,
    United States
  • NW Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition
    March 28, 2012
    Dalton,
    Georgia,
    United States
  • Danish Lactation Consultant Association
    February 27, 2012 - February 29, 2012
    Copenhagen,
    Denmark
  • Centro de Atencion a la Familia Raices
    February 16, 2012 - February 17, 2012
    Barcelona,
    Spain
  • Colegio de Medicos de Madrid
    February 13, 2012 - February 15, 2012
    Madrid,
    Spain

About the Speaker

Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and the Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Health and Trauma Psychology, Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Amarillo, Texas and Research Associate at the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. She is a founding Associate Editor of Psychological Trauma and Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Lactation. Dr. Kendall-Tackett specializes in synthesizing current research on breastfeeding, trauma, and health psychology. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is currently analyzing data from the Survey of Mothers' Sleep and Fatigue. Her research interests include the psychoneuroimmunology of maternal depression and the lifetime health effects of trauma. Dr. Kendall-Tackett has won several awards for her work including the 2011 Community Faculty Award from the Department of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University School of Medicine, and the 2011 John Kennell and Marshall Klaus Award for Excellence in Research from DONA International (with Tom Hale). She has authored more than 300 articles or chapters and is the author or editor of 21 books on maternal depression, family violence and breastfeeding. Her most recent books include: Depression in New Mothers, 2nd Edition (2010), The Psychoneuroimmunology of Chronic Disease (2010), Trauma & Physical Health (2009), and How to Write for a General Audience (2007). She is also co-author (with Nancy Mohrbacher) of Breastfeeding Made Simple, 2nd Edition (2010).  She is currently writing her 22nd book. A full listing of her books is available at UppityScienceChick.com, BreastfeedingMadeSimple.com, KathleenKendall-Tackett.com, and PraeclarusPress.com.

Official Bio for Brochure

Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association in the Divisions of Health and Trauma Psychology, Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Amarillo, Texas, and Reseach Associate at the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. She is Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Lactation,and a founding Associate Editor of Psychological Trauma. She received (with Tom Hale) the 2011 John Kennell and Marshall Klaus Award for Excellence in Research from DONA International.

Bio for Introduction

Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and the Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Health and Trauma Psychology, Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Amarillo, Texas, and a Research Associate at the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. She is a founding Associate Editor of Psychological Trauma and Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Lactation.

Dr. Kendall-Tackett has won several awards for her work including the 2011 Community Faculty Award from the Department of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University School of Medicine, and the 2011 John Kennell and Marshall Klaus Award for Excellence in Research from DONA International (with Tom Hale). She has authored more than 300 articles or chapters and is the author or editor of 21 books on maternal depression, family violence and breastfeeding. Her most recent books include: Depression in New Mothers, 2nd Edition (2010), The Psychoneuroimmunology of Chronic Disease (2010), How Breastfeeding Protects Women's Health Throughout the Lifespan (2011, co-authored with Maureen Groer), Trauma & Physical Health (2009), and How to Write for a General Audience (2007). She is also co-author (with Nancy Mohrbacher) of Breastfeeding Made Simple, 2nd Edition (2010). She is currently writing her 22nd book.

Presentations

This speaker is pleased to provide presentations on the following topics to professional and parenting conferences. Presentations on other topics may be available upon request and subject to sufficient development lead-time. (For CERP topics, required paperwork will be provided promptly to meet CERP deadlines.)

Why Breastfeeding Lowers Risk for Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in Mothers

75 - 90 minutes
CERP

In the past 5 years, several large clinical trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated that breastfeeding lowers women’s lifetime risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease in mothers. Further, these studies have documented a dose-response effect: the longer that women breastfeed, the lower the risk. The intriguing question is why this occurs. Research from the field of health psychology provides several possible mechanisms that can explain this effect. Breastfeeding downregulates the stress response, lowers inflammation, decreases depression, improves mother’s sleep quality, decreases daytime fatigue, and even attenuates the effects of psychological trauma. In this session, these effects are described, along with new data from the Survey of Mothers’ Sleep and Fatigue¸ a survey of 6,410 new mothers on how breastfeeding protects women’s physical and mental health, and even attenuates the effect of past sexual assault.

Where Do Babies Sleep? Mother-infant Sleep Location and Nighttime Feeding Behavior

60 - 75 minutes
CERP

The controversy around mother–infant bedsharing continues to grow, and mothers are frequently told to never bedshare. Is this approach effective in keeping infants safe? In order to make sound policy recommendations, policy makers need current data on where infants sleep and how families handle nighttime feedings. This presentation reviews data from recent studies on sleep location and SIDS, demonstrating that these findings are far more complex than they are frequently portrayed. This presentation also describes recent data from the U.S. sample of the Survey of Mothers’ Sleep and Fatigue, a survey of 4,789 mothers of infants 0–12 months of age. The findings indicate that almost 60% of mothers bedshare and that this occurs throughout the first year. These findings also indicate that 25% of mothers are falling asleep with their infants in dangerous sleep locations, such as chairs, sofas or recliners. Recommendations for promoting safe infant sleep are made.

A paper on this topic published in Clinical Lactation is available for inclusion in conference materials.

A New Paradigm for Depression in New Mothers

75 - 90 minutes
CERP

Recent research is psychoneuroimmunology has revealed that depression is by physical and psychological stress, specifically by upregulating the inflammatory response system. Psychological stress and trauma, pain, and sleep deprivation can all increase inflammation. Breastfeeding downregulates the stress response and protects maternal mood. Further, all effective treatments for depression have recently been shown to be anti-inflammatory. These include exercise, Omega-3 fatty acids, St. John's wort, cognitive therapy and antidepressant medications. This presentation will describe this new research and discuss its implications for the mothers that we see.

A paper on this topic is available at www.InternationalBreastfeedingJournal.com. It is an open access paper and can be used in conference materials.

Nighttime Parenting and Postpartum Depression

60 - 90 minutes
CERP

Does nighttime breastfeeding elevate the risk of postpartum depression? There are an increasing number of books that tell mothers not to breastfeed at night in order to prevent depression. While this advice is well-intended, no one knows if it even works. And it can be quite problematic for breastfeeding mothers to maintain. Using data from the Survey of Mothers’ Sleep and Fatigue, a survey of 6,410 mothers from 59 countries, we examine the relationship between feeding method, where babies sleep and maternal fatigue. Preliminary analyses reveal that breastfeeding mothers report less fatigue than their formula-feeding or mixed-feeding counterparts. This presentation will also include an analysis of nighttime feedings, sleep deprivation, and depression, while accounting for other depression risk factors, such as trauma history, postpartum pain, and lack of support. All of these other factors can compromise sleep quality and increase daytime fatigue. The sample size allows us to determine the relative contribution of each and whether advising mothers to skip nighttime feedings is sound.

Breastfeeding Made Simple: Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers

75 - 90 minutes
CERP

Each year, hundreds of thousands of women initiate breastfeeding only to stop in the first few days or weeks postpartum. Why does this happen? It’s certainly not lack of information or lack of mothers’ interest in the topic. This attrition suggests that a different approach is needed. In this presentation, I describe the natural laws for nursing mothers that simplify breastfeeding and help mothers tap into their own innate wisdom. These laws are based on the latest research from around the world and will help you teach mothers more effectively so they can have a successful breastfeeding experience.

This presentation is based on the book, Breastfeeding Made Simple, 2nd Edition (co-authored with Nancy Mohrbacher).

Breastfeeding and Survivors of Childhood Abuse

75 - 90 minutes
CERP

Survivors of childhood abuse breastfeed at the same rates as woman without an abuse history. For abuse survivors, breastfeeding can range from difficult to quite healing. The most important thing clinicians can do is to find out what the mother wants to do and work with her to have a positive experience. Childhood abuse does not have to be the blueprint for the rest of a woman's life. This session provides an overview of the latest research on the effects of childhood abuse; its impact on breastfeeding; how it can affect a woman’s body, mind and spirit; and what practitioners can do to help her cope.

Books appropriate for this presentation include Depression in New Mothers, 2nd Edition, Breastfeeding Made Simple, 2nd Edition, Trauma & Physical Health, and The Health Consequences of Abuse in the Family.

Sexual Trauma in the Lives of Childbearing Women

60 - 90 minutes
CERP

Approximately 1 in 5 women have a history of sexual assault, and this can affect their experiences of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. To date, only two small studies have empirically examined the impact of sexual abuse/assault on breastfeeding. This presentation will include findings from the Survey of Mothers' Sleep and Fatigue. In this sample, 994 women identified themselves as sexual abuse or assault survivors. The survey included 253 detailed questions about their pregnancy, births and breastfeeding experiences. The survey also included data regarding their sleep and fatigue, overall health, and history of depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. These findings will be described and compared with women in the sample with no trauma history. This is the first study with a sample of abuse/assault survivors of this size and it offers an unprecendented look into these women's experiences. The clinical application of these findings will also be presented.

Treatment Options for Depressed Breastfeeding Mothers

75 - 90 minutes
CERP

The negative effects of postpartum depression, on both mother and baby, are too serious to ignore. Fortunately, there are a number of treatments for depression with empirically demonstrated efficacy, including a wide range of non-pharmacologic treatments. Almost all are compatible with breastfeeding. This session summarizes research findings on omega-3s, exercise, bright light therapy, cognitive and interpersonal psychotherapy, St. John’s wort, and antidepressant medications. It also describes the implications of each for breastfeeding.

 

Getting Published

60 - 120 minutes

Writing about your work is an effective way to educate your colleagues and your clients, and can be good for business. Yet many clinicians approach writing with fear and trepidation.  In this workshop, you will learn how to be a more effective and confident writer. We will discuss how to decide on the types of writing that will be most helpful for your work. You will learn how to write readable prose, consider the needs of your audience, overcome writers’ block, and be more efficient. You will also learn some of the basics of marketing your work. If you’ve always wanted to write, or have just been thinking about it, this workshop is for you.

Curriculum Vitae

Books

Depression in New Mothers, 2nd Edition
January 3, 2011
Nancy Mohrbacher
November 1, 2010
Maureen Groer
July 9, 2011
Victoria Banyard, Valerie Edwards
January 14, 2009
Sarah Giacomoni
July 9, 2011
Sarah Giacomoni
July 9, 2011

Speaking Services

services body set display:none

Nearest Airport: 
Amarillo International (AMA)
Willing To Travel To: 
Northeast - US
Mid-Atlantic - US
Southeast - US
Northern Mid-West - US
Central Mid-West - US
Southern Mid-West - US
Northwest - US
Mid-Pacific - US
Southwest - US
East Canada
Central Canada
West Canada
West Europe
United Kingdom
Australia
Languages: 
English

References