Ethics in Lactation Research

1.5 E-CERPs
Available On Demand the week of April 24, 2023
COMPLIMENTARY

What makes research ethical and how can IBCLCs and others working in the lactation field weigh evidence and apply it to practice? When should IBCLCs be hesitant to take conclusions as facts? How can commercial interests play into research agendas? Join a panel of distinguished experts as we discuss these issues and discover how to begin to advocate for better policies and practices. 

Panellists:

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Dr. Jean Rankin

Dr Rankin, retired Professor of Maternal, Child and Family Health, has been involved in promoting and protecting breastfeeding for over four decades. This has been joyful but challenging work. In her early work, she was involved in implementing the Baby Friendly Hospital and Community accreditation in practice and developing the first UNICEF standards for breastfeeding in education. Dr Rankin had a key role in developing and supporting the first peer supporter training in the local community areas. More recently, she has focused on Global Reach work to explore the hazards of bottle-feeding in developing countries. She has a keen interest in bio-behavioural models to promote therapeutic relationships between parents and baby. Although retired, Dr Rankin remains committed and active in her quest to promote and protect breastfeeding to prospective parents.

Ellen Chetwynd, PhD MPH BSN IBCLC

Dr Chetwynd is a researcher, writer, speaker, and public health advocate. Her research focuses on the craft of lactation consulting—from clinical aspects to practice integration and research methods. She has served as an expert witness on reimbursement of lactation consultants, and speaks regularly, both nationally and internationally as an invited and keynote speaker. She is owner of Teaching Babies to Nurse, where she works with mothers, lactating parents, and their infants. She uses a series of techniques she has developed that access infant learning to change feeding behaviours from the context of infant movements and body dynamics, applying these techniques to manage complex breastfeeding issues. She actively mentors and teaches lactation consultants in using this approach. She was awarded the USLCA Award of Excellence in 2019. In her academic role she teaches in a variety of settings, leads the research arm of a team working on rural maternity care, writes grants, and teaches and publishes on lactation research. Dr Chetwynd has volunteered extensively in her community, providing leadership in her state breastfeeding coalition and lactation consultant association, as well as speaking up for the importance of breastfeeding on a variety of state-level boards and committees. She brings the importance of the individual from her clinical experience in the hospital, clinic, birth centre, and private practice settings to her research and advocacy, integrating the importance of person-centred care with the building and application of innovative thinking and evidence-based practices.

Cecília Tomori, PhD, MA

Dr Tomori is Associate Professor and Director of Global Public Health at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing with a joint appointment at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is an anthropologist and public health scholar whose work investigates the structural and sociocultural drivers that shape health, illness, and health inequities. Dr Tomori is internationally recognised for her expertise on breastfeeding, infant sleep, and maternal child health. Recently, she has also been pursuing how science and health policy are influenced by financial and political interests. Dr Tomori has collaborated with colleagues at Johns Hopkins and beyond on breastfeeding, infant sleep, infectious disease prevention, drug use and health policy, among other topics. She is an author of the 2023 Lancet Breastfeeding Series, three books on breastfeeding and reproduction, and numerous publications on a range of public health issues.