Call for Poster Abstracts

All participants are kindly invited to present their research and knowledge in a poster at the conference. Please note that only abstracts that meet the guidelines outlined below will be considered for presentation. 

To ensure all the submitted content is original and the poster authors own the content copyright or have evidence of permission for reuse of material in case they do not own copyright, you are required to check the appropriate box when submitting the abstract for consideration. 

All accepted posters will be uploaded to the Symposium platform by the Scientific Committee. In order to allow release of your electronic poster to the Symposium, you are required to check the appropriate box when submitting the abstract for consideration. Copies of any poster obtained through the Symposium virtual platform are for personal use only and may not be reproduced without permission from the author of the poster. 

Abstracts can only be submitted online via our Symposium landing page. 

China Symposium 

All submitted posters will be considered for one of three Poster Awards. The winners will be invited to Beijing on day 1 of the Symposium in the Poster Award Session to briefly present their research and collect their prize. 

Final deadline for abstract submission: Sunday, 2nd April 2023. 

Europe Symposium 

All submitted abstracts will have the chance to be nominated for Medela’s Best Abstract Award Europe 2023. The author of the selected abstract will be invited to attend and present his/her research in person during the closing of day 1 in Munich. 
 
Final deadline for abstract submission: Sunday, 21st May 2023. 

Guidelines for abstracts

A) Abstract length is limited to a maximum of 2500 characters. Check your abstract carefully before submitting. Typos cannot be corrected after submission. An abstract must be complete in all its parts and include the following:

  1. Category (choose one)
  2. Title: Please use sentence case for the title (only first word capitalized). Avoid abbreviations. Abbreviations may be used in the text if they are defined when used first.
  3. Authors: The author's names (first name, surname) and affiliation (institution, city, country) should be given. Degrees, titles, street addresses should be omitted. Make sure you have included all co-authors in the proper order and have indicated the presenting author. Authors cannot be added after the submission deadline.
  4. Objectives and/or hypotheses
  5. Methods
  6. Results
  7. Conclusions
  8. Acknowledgements and a conflict of interest disclosure statement. If any, these must be indicated at the bottom of the abstract. A conflict of interest exists if authors or their institutions have financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their actions. Significant conflicts of interest include financial benefits, subsidies or support for research, employment, a consultancy contract, large shareholdings or work in a public relations department.
  9. References, if any, need to be included in the text – not as footnotes.

B) Abstract formatting should be as follows:

  • Font: Arial 12-point
  • Use only a single space between sentences.
  • Do not use bold face for emphasis within text.
  • Use a comma before the final "and" or "or" in a list of items.
  • Type decimal points low line (i.e. 35.6).
  • Except in figures and tables, numbers one to ten should be written out unless they are used as a unit of measure. Use single hard-returns to separate paragraphs. Do not use tabs or indents to start a paragraph.

Abstract selection 

Abstracts will be selected for presentation as posters by the Scientific Committee through a peer-review process. The maximum word count for abstracts is 2500 characters (incl. references, spaces and acknowledgements). 

Categories China

Categories Europe
  1. Breastfeeding support
  2. Breastfeeding policy and advocacy
  3. Human milk and infant health outcomes
  4. COVID-19 and lactation
  5. Education and training
  6. Milk composition
  7. Mammary gland biology
  8. Protocols and practice
  1. Neonatal Unit 
  2. Protocols and practice 
  3. Breastfeeding clinical support  
  4. Breastfeeding policy and advocacy  
  5. Education and training  
  6. Human milk and infant health outcomes  
  7. COVID-19 and lactation  
  8. Milk composition  
  9. Mammary gland biology 

All accepted abstracts will be included in the proceedings of the Conference. The Committee reserves the right to decline any submitted abstract that lacks scientific content or merit, or merely announces the availability of a resource or service. It is inappropriate to submit an abstract with an obvious commercial intent. The Scientific Committee’s decision is final. 

The authors will be notified on the success of their application via email by Friday, 14th April 2023 for the China Symposium and by Friday, 26th May 2023 for the Europe Symposium. The actual posters need to be submitted via email (symposium@medela.com): 

  • By Friday, 28th April 2023 for the China Symposium 

  • By Friday, 9th June 2023 for the Europe Symposium 

Only electronic posters as PDF files with an A0 vertical (portrait) layout will be accepted. 

 
Abstract selection criteria 

To assist you in the preparation of your abstract we have outlined the key criteria by which your abstract will be evaluated. These criteria include but are not limited to the following: 

a) Originality  

  • Is the research novel?  
  • Does the abstract challenge current concepts or develop new methodologies or technologies?  
  • If the abstract presents an extension or a replication of previous work, is the new work better, and does it add new information to current knowledge?  

b) Scientific merit 

  • Does the abstract address an important issue/topic?  
  • Was scientific knowledge in the given field of research advanced?  
  • What will be the effect of the results on the concepts or methods that currently drive the field?  
  • Are the results and conclusions strong enough to influence how clinicians/teachers/researchers “act,” understand the basic mechanisms of health/disease; provide health services; conduct future research; or impact public policy?  

c) Quality of research design and data analysis  

  • Is the study design clearly described?  
  • Are sampling procedures adequately described, including inclusion and exclusion criteria?  
  • Are the statistical analyses appropriate for the study design?  
  • Is there an adequate discussion of the statistical power of the study?  

d) Conclusions  

  • Are the conclusions clearly stated?  
  • Are the conclusions appropriately supported by the data?  

e) Quality of presentation  

  • Is the abstract clearly written and understandable?  
  • Has the researcher followed all directions for submission?  

 
Poster session
The posters will be on display during the China Symposium and the Europe Symposium respectively. In order to facilitate scientific interaction, there will be the possibility to contact the presenting author via email. The posters will also be available for view and download after the Symposia until September 2023.