“Does everyone else’s baby sleep more than yours?”
La Leche League of Ireland’s annual conference takes place this year in Ennis on 4 and 5 March 2017. La Leche League families, breastfeeding advocates and health professionals throughout Ireland look forward to attending.
Keynote speaker, internationally renowned Professor Helen Ball from Durham University, established the Parent-Infant Sleep Lab in the UK in 2000. In her Keynote Talk, “Coping with Infant-related Sleep Disruption”, Professor Ball will explore the impact of sleep on mood and family well-being and how parents cope. In another session she will discuss “Breastfeeding and Infant Sleep”.
Professor Ball’s research examines sleep ecology, particularly in infants, young children and their parents. This encompasses attitudes and practices regarding infant sleep and the discordance between cultural sleep preferences and biological sleep needs. Professor Ball pioneers the translation of academic research on infant sleep into evidence for use by parents and healthcare staff via ISIS – the Infant Sleep Information Source (www.isisonline.org.uk).
Another speaker at this year’s LLL conference will be Helen Gray, a La Leche League Leader and IBCLC from the UK. The topic on Saturday afternoon will be “WHO Code on Social Media”. On Sunday morning Helen will discuss “Improving Policy & Practice with the World Breastfeeding Trends initiative” (WBTi).
Helen Gray is the mother of three children and has a background in anthropology, archaeology and human evolution. This combination has led to an ongoing interest in how our modern culture shapes the way we mother our babies. Gray’s website is www.mybreastfedbaby.co.uk.
Throughout this weekend conference there will also be a wide range of speakers on other issues relating to Childbirth, Breastfeeding and Parenting, Fertility and Complementary Therapies. As always there will be sessions especially for fathers, discussion groups for teenagers and plenty of activities for 8–12 year olds to enjoy. Playroom facilities for 4–7 year olds are available. All pregnant parents and breastfeeding babies are welcome.
La Leche League of Ireland offers mother-to-mother breastfeeding support and information to all interested women through monthly meetings and 24-hour telephone help. La Leche League Groups are listed on www.lalecheleagueireland.com and on Facebook.
Further information from: Jenny Powell 086 0768735 or E-mail: prlllireland@gmail.com.
Event: La Leche League of Ireland Annual Conference 2017
Date: Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 March 2017
Venue: Treacy’s West County Hotel, Ennis, Co. Clare.