Past webinars

Achieving Secretory Activation: Coming to Full Milk Volume

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Tuesday, 6 August 2024, 1pm CST (8pm CEST)

Emerging evidence indicates that achievement of secretory activation and coming to volume, events that occur during the first two weeks postpartum, are fundamental to continued lactation. The biologic underpinnings of the transition from secretory differentiation to secretory activation and coming to volume are extraordinarily complex, and are poorly understood by many clinicians, especially with respect to integrating them into best practices. Patterns of infant suckling and milk removal during this critical stage have been relatively well-studied and mirror the biology of the mammary gland. However, there are often ideological barriers to adapting these patterns for breast pump dependent mothers with NICU infants. This presentation summarizes the biology of secretory activation, effective and efficient milk removal, and achievement of coming to volume. Also introduced for the first time are personalized point-of-care instruments designed to measure and mirror these biologic processes.

Objectives:

1. Summarize the biology of secretory differentiation, secretory activation (SA) and achievement of coming to volume (CTV).

2. Describe the intricate, synergistic role of infant suckling and milk removal in the achievement of SA and CTV in healthy dyads, and the importance of adapting infant patterns into breast pumps and breast pump suction patterns.

3. List point-of-care instruments and technologies to manage SA and achievement of CTV for breast pump-dependent mothers in the NICU, including personalized pumping pathways, the PROVIDE compendium (www.lactahub.org/nicu-training), daily sodium measures, test-weights, and others.

Event details

Join Dr. Paula Meier for the third webinar in our five-part webinar series, Bridging Human Milk Research to Increase Human Milk in the NICU. Dr. Paula Meier will present, Achieving Secretory Activation: Coming to Volume.

Date 06 August 2024

Time 1:00pm CST

This program has been approved for 1.0 Contact Hours; provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #13692

Dr. Paula Meier, PhD, RN

Paula Meier, PhD, RN, is a Professor of Pediatrics and Nursing at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Meier has worked as a practitioner, researcher, and educator in the area of human milk, lactation and breastfeeding for premature infants and their mothers since 1975. She spearheaded the multidisciplinary Rush University NICU Human Milk Research Team that has conducted numerous externally-funded translational research and demonstration projects focused on the removal of barriers to high-dose, long-exposure mothers' own milk feedings for NICU infants. Dr. Meier has published over 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts and parent educational materials and has mentored graduate students from a multitude of disciplines. She is a former president of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML; 2012-2014) and has served for over 20 years as a member of the Health Advisory Council for La Leche League. She has received Distinguished Alumna Awards from the University of Illinois and Rush University, and in 2013 received the Audrey Hepburn Award for Contributions to the Health and Welfare of Children from Sigma Theta Tau, International. She was an invited member of the WHO task force on donor human milk, 2019, and the NICHD BEGIN (Breastmilk Ecology: Genesis of Infant Nutrition) task force in 2020-2021. She has served as a reviewer for human milk-related research on multiple NIH review panels. Most recently, she is the recipient of the 2022 Macy-Gyorgy Award from ISRHML, a biennial award that recognizes outstanding lifetime research contributions to human milk, lactation and breastfeeding.