This package includes the following 6 plenary sessions:

1. The Time Is Now: Why Partnering With Public Health is Crucial to Achieving First Food Equity

Breastfeeding/human milk feeding is a crucial public health issue, critical for reducing the burden of infant morbidity and mortality, childhood and adolescent overweight, obesity, chronic disease, maternal type 2 diabetes, and maternal breast and ovarian cancers. In this session, you’ll hear from representatives of the American Heart Association, Georgia Southern University, and the Minnesota Breastfeeding Coalition as they discuss how partnerships with the broader public health community can advance the First Food agenda.

​Presented by:

• Joan Enderle: American Heart Association, Senior Manager, Public Health, AHA Heart REACH El Paso.
• Linda Kopecky: Minnesota Breastfeeding Coalition, Former Interim Executive Director.
• Nandi A. Marshall: Georgia Southern University: Jiann-Ping Hsu College Of Public Health, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Associate Professor​
• Linda Dech: Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies, Executive Director
• Denae Schmidt of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee, Sr. Membership & Coalitions Manager, moderates this session.

At the end of this session conference, attendees will be able to:

• Summarize why partnering with the broader public health community is a critical strategy to advance lactation equity
• Identify strategies for developing partnerships with the wider public health community to advance the First Food agenda.
• Recognize how public health partnerships can provide access to and leverage resources that enable breastfeeding coalitions and organizations to do more than they can do independently.
  

2. The Miseducation of the First Food Field

Colonization left a legacy infused in our everyday thinking and has intergenerationally impacted the First Food Field. How have systems of inequities created by harmful colonial practices been perpetuated today in lactation education, and what can we do to disrupt these practices? In this session, you'll hear from representatives of Lioness Lactation, Indigenous Breastfeeding Counselor, and The B.L.A.C.K. Course on how decolonizing lactation education plays a vital role in realizing the collective vision of all breastfeeding/ human milk feeding champions: thriving families and communities.

Presented by:

• Nekisha Killings, MPH IBCLC: Owner, Perinatal Equity Strategist, Lioness Lactation LLC
• Lydia Boyd: Perinatal Educator - Ambulatory, Martin Luther King Jr. Community Healthcare
• Felisha Floyd (She/Her): Owner, Blactavist
• Kimberly Moore-Salas: Lactation provider and contractor, Indigenous Breastfeeding Counselor
• Sekeita Lewis-Johnson: Accredited Provider Program Director, Lactation Education Resources
• Tamentanefer Camara: Owner/Lead Lactation Consultant & Maternal Health Strategist, T.L.C Consulting & Maternal Healing
• Camie Jae Goldhammer: Founder and co-Instructor, Indigenous Lactation Counselor
• Ngozi Tibbs, MPH, IBCLC, LCCE, CHC, LU: Health Nutrition And Sexual Wellness Coach, Journeylighter Coaching and Consulting

 At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:

• Describe two ways in which colonization impacts lactation education today
  
• Identify two ways lactation education can do better in honoring the ancestral wisdom intrinsic to the families and communities we serve

3. Decolonizing Language: Exploring Intent and Impact

In this session, panelists will discuss the impact of language on breastfeeding/human milk feeding families and explore ways in which the First Food Field can move forward. ​

Presented by:

• Casey Rosen-Carole (she/her/s): Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
• Jordyn White: Human Rights Campaign
• Mari Villaluna: Lactating solo parent, Doula

4. Data Genocide: The Impact of Colonial Data Practices on Communities

​This session will explore the impact of colonial practices on data collection and reporting.

​Presented by:

• Abigail Echo-Hawk: Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle Indian Health Board, Executive Vice President, and Director
• Camie Jae Goldhammer: Indigenous Lactation Counselor, Founder, and co-Instructor, facilitates this discussion

5. Legal Protections for Working Parents: Where We Are and Where We're Going

​The workplace policies that surround and shape our lives have a significant impact on breastfeeding rates. Laws and policies that provide family and medical leave and protect the right to reasonable accommodations for pregnancy and lactation are especially critical. This fireside conversation includes an esteemed panel of experts to share their perspectives on legal protections for parenting workers. A representative from the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division will describe the current legal landscape and how you can support public education and implementation efforts related to the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Break Time for Nursing Mothers law. The panel will also feature legal experts from A Better Balance and WorkLife Law to describe ongoing gaps in legal protections, current legislative proposals, and ways you can get involved. The panelists will share practical resources, including a toolkit featuring model policies, so that attendees are equipped with the information and tools they need to understand and strengthen support for working parents.

Presented by:

• Helen Applewhaite: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
• Jessica Lee: The Pregnant Scholar Initiative at the Center for WorkLife Law, UC Hastings Law, Director, Senior Staff Attorney
• Sarah Brafman: A Better Balance, Director, D.C. Office & Senior Policy Counsel
• Cheryl Lebedevitch: of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee, Senior Advocacy & Communications Manager, moderates this session

At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:

• Describe the ongoing gaps in legal protections for working parents
• Use practical strategies for supporting public education and implementation efforts related to the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Break Time for Nursing Mothers law
  

6. Predatory Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes: A Global Perspective from the World Health Organization

​Presenters from the World Health Organization, Dr. Laurence M. Grummer-Strawn, Unit Head, Food and Nutrition Actions in Health Systems, and Dr. Nina Chad from the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) Food and Nutrition Action in Health Systems (AHS), will present on the three recently released World Health Organization (WHO) reports focused on the predatory marketing of breastmilk substitutes globally. During this plenary session, the presenters will explore the deceptive, persistent, and prevalent marketing practices that influence mothers, and mothers-to-be, to use commercial infant formula.

Presented by:

• Larry Grummer Strawn: World Health Organization, Technical Officer
• Nina Chad: World Health Organization, Infant and Young Child Feeding Consultant
• Amelia Psmythe Seger (she/her/s): of the US Breastfeeding Committee moderates this session

At the end of the session, attendees will be able to:

• Demonstrate a broad understanding of predatory marketing practices
• Identify opportunities for engagement for lactation advocates in the U.S.