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Improve the breastfeeding experience that your clients have sooner

For health professionals working with families after birth

Enroll

Breastfeeding Strategies for Birth Professionals

Improving Their Experience in 0-6 Days

 

The Experience

"This course bridged a crucial gap between physical therapy and lactation support. I walked away feeling much more confident in how to apply my skills to support breastfeeding families holistically. Ann is an incredibly knowledgeable, passionate and interactive instructor and I highly recommended for any PT looking to expand their scope in maternal and infant care."

Katherine Federer, PT, DPT

 

2-DAY IN-PERSON AND LIVESTREAM COURSE | 17.5 CONTACT HOURS

Rehab and medical providers are trained to support women before, during, and after birth to reduce perinatal injuries, minimize unnecessary interventions, and improve postpartum recovery. However, few providers receive adequate training in breastfeeding support, such as latch assessment, milk production, common breast issues, and evidence-based strategies, despite frequently addressing maternal pain and dysfunction through biomechanics and positional adjustments.

This continuing education course fills the gap in breastfeeding support by providing evidence-based knowledge on human lactation, manual therapy for breast/nipple pain and engorgement, and positioning strategies tailored for both the mother and infant. Practitioners will be able to recognize issues that require referral to a lactation consultant and address orthopedic impairments earlier that are related to breastfeeding which include wrist, chest, shoulder, thoracic, and cervical dysfunction in both mothers and infants. 

By integrating orthopedic assessment, postpartum recovery interventions, and advanced knowledge of human lactation, practitioners will enhance their ability to support breastfeeding relationships, improve outcomes, and provide comprehensive care during the birthing year.

Course Dates and Location: Montana

September 13 - 14, 2025

Location: In-Person at Rooted Pelvic Health and Yoga, 811 South First Street, Hamilton, MT 59840 AND via LIVESTREAM

Day 1 Saturday, September 13, 2025: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Mountain Time

Day 2 Sunday, September 14, 2025: 8:00 AM - 1:30 PM Mountain Time

MONTANA INFO

 

Course Objectives

  1. Analyze the roles of obstetrics rehabilitation and birth providers, including their scope of practice in human lactation and review breastfeeding recommendations from WHO and UNICEF.
  2. Explain the anatomy of the breast tissue, the lymphatic system, muscular system, nervous system, thoracic spine, ribs, and infant oral anatomy in relation to their impact on breastfeeding as a fundamental occupation.
  3. Describe the process of human milk production, including the role of hormones, feeding patterns, and their impact on milk supply.
  4. Demonstrate manual breast lymphatic drainage techniques, as well as rib and thoracic mobility techniques, to address engorgement effectively and enable continued participation in breastfeeding.
  5. Apply techniques to address orthopedic impairments in mothers to enhance function and promote exclusive breastfeeding.
  6. Evaluate evidence-based strategies to support mothers during the birthing process and immediate postpartum period, including the effects of medications and positional adjustments to minimize their use.
  7. Illustrate the significance of the “breast crawl” and the “Golden Hour” in establishing breastfeeding as an occupation and fostering early mother-infant bonding.
  8. Identify the biomechanical requirements for infant latch, assess the quality of a latch, and outline the steps for achieving an effective latch.
  9. Discuss proper infant feeding techniques and strategies to address common breastfeeding challenges with evidence-based solutions to promote sustained engagement in this daily occupation.
  10. Develop breastfeeding positioning strategies that accommodate maternal orthopedic conditions and infant needs, ensuring optimal latch and continued participation in exclusive breastfeeding.
  11. Recognize situations requiring referral to a lactation professional or physician to support safe and effective participation in breastfeeding as an occupation.

Access the Course Schedule

Breastfeeding Strategies for Birth Professionals

17.5 Contact Hours

REGISTER HERE

 

CEU Info

Enhanced Recovery and Wellness, LLC is the parent organization of Pelvic Health Network and is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. AOTA and Colorado PT activity is approved for 17.5 contact hours. The live, blended/hybrid, distance learning-interactive, and distance learning-independent activities are offered at 1.75 CEUs, intermediate level, OT Service Delivery. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.

 

About the Author

Dr. Ann Croghan, PT, DPT, CLC, CAPP-OB certified: After the birth of my first child, I became more passionate about working with women during their childbearing years and I obtained my CAPP-OB certification through the APTA Academy of Pelvic Health. Women deserve access to evidence-based information about how their bodies work and they deserve to feel well. Because of this core belief, I created an obstetric physical therapy program in the acute care section of my hospital in order to provide education and healing for postpartum impairments that can impact a mother’s postpartum recovery. This program now prioritizes care for mothers who have a cesarean birth and for vaginal births. All mothers then receive an order for outpatient follow-up care in order to continue to support them in their postpartum journey as well as early recognition of risk factors in order to improve maternal outcomes. This program has now grown to provide care for women during their childbearing years, including pregnancy, antepartum, acute postpartum, and postpartum beyond. In 2017 I became a certified lactation counselor, CLC, after the local breastfeeding coalition offered scholarships to community members in order to improve access to evidence-based breastfeeding support. As a PT who works with women postpartum, as well as breastfeeding two children, I did not think that this class would have much to offer. I was astounded by all the information that I had gathered that was incorrect or irrelevant. Since earning my CLC, I now have an added passion of educating medical professionals on evidence-based breastfeeding support in order to help women meet their breastfeeding goals. I also offer breastfeeding support to all of my clients and integrate support into each of our PT sessions. Outside of my advocacy, and my work as a pelvic health and OB PT, I enjoy the mountains with my husband and three littles. I help to coach soccer, support my children in their passions, and I love to enjoy the local hot springs.

 Course Reviews

"I really enjoyed this course and feel that it will be very helpful for others, whether PT, OT, SLP, and lactation consultant. It’s super applicable for clinical work. Keep up the good work! I really enjoyed the examples."

"I took this course unsure of exactly how I would use it, but Now I know it will be so beneficial for pregnant women and postpartum moms and giving them an extra layer of education/support in what is normally a very dysfunctional time in their lives to help them ease into the transition. I enjoyed the personal experiences and hearing stories and to hear the PT perspective and the lactation perspective". 

"This course should be a prerequisite for all providers working with antenatal and post partum mothers, regardless of setting. The information is essential for further
development, education and research in breastfeeding dyads."

"Thank you, Ann. This was a leap of faith for me to develop more skills and demonstrate the knowledge and skill that we as PTs can continue to provide across settings. I am more empowered to push at my employer for increased participation and access to post-partum mothers and pre-natal education."

"I learned more info applicable to my PT practice than I initially thought! I was already able to use new skills for pelvic and ortho in the first week following."

"I really liked the in-person option and love that this allows for better hands-on practice and networking and I learn best this way but did not mind at all the hybrid option with livestream at the same time."

"I love that she was very much able to relate this topic to acute care, home health and outpatient and works in all of these and very much had clinical take aways for all these settings."

As a physical therapist, I found this breastfeeding course to be an incredibly valuable and eye-opening experience. It offered a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to understanding how our manual skills can support breastfeeding parents in meaningful ways. We learned specific hands-on techniques to improve rib mobility and facilitate lymphatic drainage, both of which can have a direct impact on breast tissue health and milk flow. The course also addressed how to identify and help resolve common breastfeeding challenges, such as pain, poor latch, and supply concerns, using our PT lens. A major highlight was deepening our understanding of the importance of direct breastfeeding and the remarkable biological components of human breast milk. This helped contextualize why supporting breastfeeding is not just about latch mechanics, but about the overall health of the dyad. The course also provided detailed instruction on how to assess for a good latch and how to troubleshoot positioning, posture, and musculoskeletal imbalances. We explored biomechanics not just from the baby’s perspective but also how to ensure the mother’s comfort is prioritized—promoting sustainable and pain-free breastfeeding. Overall, this course bridged a crucial gap between physical therapy and lactation support. I walked away feeling much more confident in how to apply my skills to support breastfeeding families holistically. Ann is an incredibly knowledgeable, passionate and interactive instructor and I highly recommended for any PT looking to expand their scope in maternal and infant care."