Diane Powers, BA, IBCLC

about Diane Powers

Diane Powers BA, IBCLC is an animated and passionate presenter who has for the past 20 years worked with over 700 new mother/baby pairs a year. She has a passion for the “BIG WHY’S” in the challenges that present in breastfeeding and a desire to break down those obstacles in a manner that is easily understood whether by new parent or professional. Diane realizes that it is important in the arena of breastfeeding challenges to have several possible solutions in mind, as each mother-baby dyad is wonderfully unique. Diane lectures nationally and internationally, has completed 2 research projects, and has had 5 articles published in the Journal of Human Lactation. Having planned conferences herself, she understands the need to communicate promptly and respond quickly with all needed information.

official bio

Diane Powers began her journey in breastfeeding education as a LaLeche League Leader in 1974. In 1986 she established a business as a lactation consultant in private practice where doctors referred patients to her, as well as working for a pediatric practice seeing all of their breastfeeding patients each day they were in the hospital and again at their first well baby visit. In 1999, the competing pediatric practice in her community recruited her to come to their facility, Billings Clinic, to establish and run the lactation service line for their newly constructed Family Birth Center and Pediatric Clinic. In this capacity she sees mothers and babies both as patients in the hospital - each day they are there - as well as in the clinic setting following discharge.

presentations

Diane Powers 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)

The Physics of Correct Positioning ~ Understanding the Nuances That Make It Easier for the Baby
30 - 75 minutes
CERP

Small adjustments can make a significant alteration in the baby’s ability to succeed at breastfeeding. A slightly different look at 10 things that make it easier for the baby which illuminate the physics ~ gravity, torque, flexion, extension,and angles ~ that apply to the art and technique of breastfeeding success. CERP

Note: Breastfeeding educators are working with women who are sleep deprived, exhausted, and frustrated. Educators need to teach in a way that makes complete sense and simplifies the understanding of the problem as well as the solution. If we are not able to do that the new mothers is just not in the frame of mind to able to "get it." One of the skills i am told i bring to teaching new mothers is a knack for breaking down the problem in understandable terms and quickly ~ or this mother will fall asleep on us ~offering solutions that help to empower the mother so that she both knows she is doing something wonderful for her baby, and that she feels she will be able to "fix" whatever problem arises when she is home alone. My focus as i lecture is to pass on this skill set to lacataion consultants, nurses, dieticians, WIC educators and physicians or whomever else may be helping this new mother at a very vulnerable time in her life.

Where Baby Boomers May Be Bombing Out: Working Well With Generation X & y Women
30 - 90 minutes
CERP

Different generations can and do respond to situations in dissimilar ways. Awareness of the possible different expectations and responses between age cohorts can be helpful in working with new mothers who are planning to breastfeed. Many lactation consultants are “Baby Boomers” who have through tenacity and persistence breastfed their own children, and then have gone on to educate others on how to succeed even with the sometimes “white water” that can present while learning to breastfeed. “Boomers” pride themselves on prevailing no matter what the problem might be or how long it takes. Many “Xers” are extremely comfortable with gadgets, expect quick fixes, and are very comfortable meeting their own needs which sometimes means that breastfeeding can be thrown out with the baby’s bathwater if it interferes with their expectations of time spent or pain tolerance. This presentation will illuminate the differences and suggest ways to teach that will excite interest in new mothers.Note: Hand outs are included as well as a power point presentation on the advantages of breastfeeding which is geared to Generation X & Y women. The power point presenation is designed to be used as an opening to prenatal breastfeeding classes or to be shown during birth classes.

The Butterfly Theory: Why What We Do Matters
30 - 60 minutes
CERP

When a butterfly flutters its wings in one part of the world,
it can eventually cause a hurricane in another…
Edward Lorenz in Chaos Thoery

Formula introduced in the 20th century has been instrumental in decreasing the health of babies, children and adults worldwide. We could call this the "formula flap" of the butterfly wings. There is ample money available for marketing of formula. On the other side of the equation ~breastfeeding education ~ what is the motivator to teach about the hazards of infant formula and the advantages for human babies receiving human milk? There is no financial
backer to help motivate new mothers through slick advertizing. That leaves you and me. If we remember that when we speak with evidence based science at our back and with passion for the potential health advantages of each baby receiving his mothers milk as the winds beneath our wings we can collectively, over time, have a tremendous impact on the percentage of infants receiving human milk. If we keep flying, and flapping our butterfly wings, we will reach the moment called the tipping point when the awareness of the important health benefits of breastfeeding will seep into the collective consciousness. From there on, the updraft will be such that our flying will feel more like floating.

Magnesium Sulfate and Epidurals ~ Do They Effect Breastfeeding?
30 - 60 minutes
CERP

Magnesium Sulfate given to the mother can affect the baby and may cause difficulty with breastfeeding in the early days. Understanding the implications and fine tuning our expectations in light of the exposure to Mag Sulfate is the foucs of this talk along with...

Epidurals: a solid look at the research along with an understanding of many Gen X & Y Women's epectations concerning pain in labor.How do lactation consultants bring their expertise to the situation when anesthesia has been utilized? Does it effect what we do?

Evidence Based Practice: Research Results on using a Nipple Shield
60 - 90 minutes
CERP

Our awareness of breastfeeding educators bias against the use of nipple shields (ourselves included), and then having new mothers tell us that they really liked using a nipple shield for a variety of reasons had us undertake an ethics review board approved research project with a validated questionnaire. 202 women were interviewed retrospectively about their use of a nipple shield. They had to have discontinued using the nipple shield for one week to be included in the study. The results of this research project were published in JHL in August 2004. The lecture will include the tallied results for the six objectives for the study:

1. to identify the most common reasons why mothers used a nipple shield
2. to determine the average amount of time the shield was used
3. to examine the relationship between nipple shield use and infant weight gain
4. to assess whether mothers perceived the use of a nipple shield as contributing to their success with breastfeeding
5. to allow women an opportunity to make comments regarding nipple shield use
6. to determine if women with flat or inverted nipples were being told to use breast shells to help to correct the problem or if they were just being given a nipple shield. This presentation gives an overview of the feedback from those women who participated in the study as well as an understanding of how one lowly case report has colored our outlook on this tool for 20 years.

Common Phone Questions: Knowing What to Ask Before Giving the Answer
30 - 60 minutes
CERP

When calling an LC with a breastfeeding question mothers may be under-reporting the entirety of the circumstances. Or they may be assuming that a baby who say, "feeds all the time" is getting too little milk because of their lack of knowledge about the consequences of over supply. This session is set up as a quick-moving tutorial for those often asked questions of new mothers i.e. How do i get my baby to take a bottle, How do i increase my milk supply, How do i wean without getting mastitis, plus many more. Knowing what to ask can make all of the difference in having a positive outcome for a mothers' many concerns about breastfeeding.Note: I have done this talk and then had it morph into an interactive presentation where participants are assigned to groups of 3 or 4 and then given a script of a common phone question. Each group has a different question. After @ 30 minutes, or whatever you were to decide for a time frame, each group discusses and determines what other information they would need to gather from the mother. Following a thorough history taking, the group then presents what they feel the appropriate plan of action is for this mother and her baby.

Vitamin D and the Breastfed Infant: Controversies and Concerns
30 - 60 minutes
CERP

Is there Vitamin D in human milk? Do breastfed babies need a vitamin D supplement? Is Vitamin D a vitamin?

A look at how much vitamin D is an adequate amount in human milk and how to know if the mother has adequate Vit. D in her diet.

Sucking Issues and Strategies: Helping Babies Who Refuse the Breast
30 - 75 minutes
CERP

Everything you have done to correctly help with breastfeeding does not have you seeing a contented infant at the breast. You have attended lectures on correct position and latch. You have seen videos showing the same. You have had hands opportunities to help mothers and babies. BUT it is still not working. Knowing what can go wrong and how to help with those scenarios.

A Lactation Logjam: Your Great Desire is for the Infant to Receive His Mother's MIlk ~ His Mother's Great Desire is to Use Meth. And other dilemmas in the LC's world.
30 - 60 minutes
CERP

Speaking the truth about a the occasional discouragers in our area of healthcare helps us connect, relate, brainstorm, problem solve, cope and exhale. Stephen Covey says: Interdependence is a far more mature, more advanced concept. If I am physically interdependent, I am self-reliant and capable, but I also realize that you and I working together can accomplish far more than, even at my best, I could accomplish alone. This inspirational lecture is intended to be a bit of a look at the good, the bad and the ugly in our field.

The Building Blocks of Breastfeeding: From Advantages to Zinc Deficiency
180 - 240 minutes
CERP

This presentation will begin with a look at why learning about breastfeeding matters. The health advantages are truly profound for the growing child. We will then move to a thorough explanation of how to correctly assist with positionig and latching the baby. Following a look at the "physics" behind correct positioning, we will evaluate those situations and circumstances surrounding infants who refuse the breast even with all of our good coaching and assistance. This concurrent session is titled: What to do When Fixing the Latch Doesn't Fix the Problem: Assisting the Baby who Fights getting on the Breast. We will also look at and discuss some of the more unusual situation that can crop up when working with new mothers i.e. ancillary nipples, asymetrical breasts, breast surgery, surrogate mothers, and hyper supply to mention just a few. Note: This 3 hour to day-long presentation is geared to someone wishing an overview of breastfeeding that includes a synthesis of the left-brained practicalities along with the right-brained knowledge of relationships and nurturing.