Cathy claims she learnt how to breastfeed from watching Australian Aboriginal women breastfeed.
Certifying as an IBCLC in 1996, she has been a private practitioner since 1999.
Cathy was a research associate with the Hartmann Human Lactation Group at The University of Western Australia for 7 years, retiring from this position in 2013. The position she held with this world-renowned research group saw her lactation knowledge expand vastly. Research projects included basic research on the mechanism of removal of milk from the “normal”, uncomplicated breastfeeding dyad. This breastfeeding research produced many scientific publications to help us understand the successful breastfeeding relationship. Cathy participated in many more research projects. For further details see her publication list.
In 2006/7 she was on the conference organizing committee for the International Scientific Research for Human Lactation conference.
Cathy has worked with families in a range of areas from the Flying Doctor Service to aged care. Her interest in family health intensified after having two children of her own. She has been in private practice as a lactation consultant since 1999 and has visited thousands of families. Cathy spent 71/2 years working with the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group at the University of Western Australia as a research associate. Cathy produces and hosts parenting workshops and lactation education for health professionals. Cathy’s passion is for a “bright future” for children.
Cathy has worked in hospitals and in the community in rural, remote and metropolitan areas since 1977, working with families in a range of areas from the Flying Doctor Service to aged care.
Her interest in family health intensified after having two children of her own.
She has been in private practice as a lactation consultant since 1999.
Cathy spent 71/2 years working with the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group at the University of Western Australia as a research associate, doing lactation research. This group is recognised worldwide for its work in the area under the direction of Professor Peter Hartmann and Professor Donna Geddes. During this time her breastfeeding knowledge vastly increased and she presented at many breastfeeding conferences within Australia and internationally.
Cathy produces and hosts parenting workshops for families. She also provides intensive one-day study sessions for health professionals in rural and metropolitan areas.
Cathy’s passion is for a “bright future” for children. Her role in this is to help parents gain confidence, education and support along with learning the art of breastfeeding.
She enjoys her work immensely and considers it a privilege to be able to assist families during one of the most special times of their lives.
Firstly lets look at the research to see what “normal” breastfeeding looks like. Knowing the wide range of what is “normal” in lactation highlights just how individual each breastfeeding relationship is. We will look at differences in fat content before and after feeds and see how individual this is, average feeding times and volumes, how breastfeeding changes over time and much more. This range of information helps us to think outside of the square and reduces the plethora of conflicting advice new mothers often suffer. It also helps mothers to develop realistic expectations of the breastfeeding relationship. We know when expectations meet reality that successful breastfeeding more likely follows. By focusing on the “normal”, the abnormal can be recognized early, ensuring that timely assistance and support follow.
There are four key areas that interplay in the breastfeeding relationship. This presentation describes these 4 key elements, so when you are assessing mothers and babies with breastfeeding difficulties this systematic approach will help you to prioritise the areas of concern. At the same time it ensures you continue to consider all key elements in the complex breastfeeding relationship.
This case report was published in Pediatrics in November 2013, a journal that serves the general medical profession as well as paediatricians. This report convincingly illustrates to those in a position to perform frenotomy, that tongue tie is indeed difficult to diagnose and that the 24-hour milk production profiles, along with ultrasound and other physiological measurements pre and post frenotomy showed a dramatic improvement in breastfeeding. The 24-hour milk production profile has many uses in helping the breastfeeding family attain their breastfeeding goals.
24-hour Milk Production Profiles were originally used in the research setting to accurately measure a mother’s milk production over a 24-hour period. This simple easy-to-use tool is extremely useful also to the lactation consultant and other health professionals in the clinical setting. Recent research has shown that the 24-hour milk profile increases maternal breastfeeding confidence; this allays previous concerns to the contrary.
This presentation illustrates how this tool helps with diagnosing, treating, managing and monitoring a number of breastfeeding difficulties, also how to perform and interpret the 24-hour milk production profile.
Low milk supply is the most commonly sited breastfeeding problem. Providing mothers with accurate evidenced-based information gives them the best opportunity to overcome this difficult problem. In this study we hypothosised that expressing 2 breasts simultaneously produced more milk that expressing each breast sequentially. This presentation takes you through the process of the study and reveals other information we discovered.
From research we know most mothers today want to access the option to express their breastmilk, for a multitude of reasons. More importantly we know a mother with a milk supply problem or sore nipples or breast needs this option to continue breastfeeding. In this presentation we look at the research surrounding expressing breastmilk so that we can provide mothers with the best research-based information enabling them to express in the most effective way to suit their situation.
This case study was published in JAMA 2009. Nipple piercing has always been thought to not damage the breastfeeding relationship. In this presentation we take an opportunity to firstly revise the anatomy of the lactating breast. We then go on to look at the research data collected from 3 breastfeeding mothers that presented with breastfeeding problems showing how milk production and mammary blood flow was affected by scarring from the nipple piercing.
Lets look at all the evidence on nipple confusion, and try and untangle how and why it might occur. Are there other reasons for babies not wanting to breastfeed after having used a bottle other than “nipple confusion”? This presentation then illustrates how we as lactation consultants can guide care to help prevent and manage this situation.
