The Greatest Breastfeeding Gig In Europe!

Question: What do the following people have to with breastfeeding?

Rihanna, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Elton John, Tom Jones, Pavarotti, Katy Perry, Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Diana Ross, Cher, Kylie Minogue, Coldplay, The Spice Girls, JLS, One Direction.

Answer: They have all graced the very same stage that will now be home to Europe’s largest conference on infant feeding: The Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative Conference.


As you know, later this year I’ll begin working with Unicef on my PhD study of breast and formula fed babies. Over the last 18-months their convention organising committee visited my neck of the woods several times and on one occasion were even greeted by a flash mob of breastfeeding mamas. Paul Szomoru, head of business tourism at NewcastleGateshead, had a chortle. He said: “If there’s one thing the North East does well, it’s welcoming people!” Dude knows his shit. 

This gig of a lifetime will take place at the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, 26-27 November 2014.

I’ll be there signing copies of Breast Intentions, accompanied by Professor Helen Ball. We’ll be hanging out in the Parent-Infant Sleep Lab area. Pop along and hang with us. The conference will showcase a mixture of innovative, entertaining and ‘challenging’ performances on a wide range of breastfeeding issues; everything from how an epidural will impact upon your breastfeeding performance to how oxytocin changes you as a mother (a topic I’m currently writing about).

Just take a gander at the running order:

  • Dr Helen Ball, Head of Anthropology, Durham University – The co-sleeping debate.
  • Ros Bragg, Director, Maternity Action – Employment and breastfeeding compatibility.
  • Dr Kajsa Brimdyr, Lead Ethnographic Researcher, Professor, Healthy Child Project – The first hour after birth: The implications of labour medications.
  • Dr Karin Cadwell, Healthy Children Project – Reaching out to mothers using relational theory.
  • Dr Nikk Conneman Director, Sophia NIDCAP Training Center  - Mentoring caregivers, changing hospitals.
  • Sue Cooper, Infant Feeding Co-ordinator, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – Setting up a rapid access clinic.
  • Carmel Duffy, Deputy Programme Director, UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative – Responsiveness - what does it really mean?
  • Dr Dan Poulter, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health - Opening address
  • Sally Tedstone, National Breastfeeding Lead, Public Health Wales – Creating supportive environments for breastfeeding.
  • Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg, Professor of Physiology, University of Uppsala – The effect of oxytocin on parent-infant relationships.
  • Laurel Wilson, Author and Executive Director of CAPPA Lactation Programme – Breastfeeding’s impact on the appearance and functioning of DNA: The potential long-term impact on health.
  • Plus stalls and goodies!



That's 2 days, 11 presentations, and 40,000 square feet of lactation loveliness!

Full details, and all that jazz: 

See you there for a bevvy and a chin-wag!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 Shocking Things Facebook Finds Less Offensive Than Breastfeeding

Image
If you're a breastfeeding mother with the audacity to step foot aboard the Good Ship Facebook, prepare to walk the plank. For, as everyone knows, treasure 'chests' of the lactating variety are prohibited on these seas. And, because everyone knows this, there’s a good chance a buccaneer from your (so-called) matey list will betray you and hit report. Indeed, the motley crew at Facebook proudly boast that they’ve: “built industry leading technical and human systems” and: “developed sophisticated tools” to help their crew evaluate the reports they receive. “As a result, we believe we are able to remove the vast majority of content that violates our standards” ( Facebook 2013 ). Rightyo. I decided to test these ‘industry leading’ report systems. For the first time in my long and illustrious relationship with the t’internet I hit the ‘report’ button on a load of memes. The results are below. Be forewarned: the results and the content I reported (particularly the content!) fail t...
Read more

Is Formula Feeding Worse Than Smoking?

Image
When you read the title you probably thought, ‘But formula is nothing like smoking, jeeeeez!’ On the contrary, there are numerous parallels. In this post I’m going to set out, not only why formula feeding is like smoking, but why it may even be considered  worse . Firstly, a common thread between formula feeding and smoking is consumption patterns. They both follow the addiction model: It’s easy to get hooked, and then you’ve gotta have it (see what I mean,  here ). During World War II, soldiers were issued with free cigarettes, courtesy of the tobacco companies, whereas today formula companies gatecrash maternity wards, doctors’ surgeries, and parenting magazines proselytizing with free formula: Health cover-up Mark my word friends, in the not so distant future, lawsuits will be filed against formula companies claiming that they are responsible for the ill-health of the obese, diabetics, crohn’s sufferers, allergy sufferers, arthritis sufferers and asthmatics, to name but a f...
Read more

The Eroticism of Child Birth

Image
It is late, later than usual. The lights are low and they are alone at last. Soft music is playing, with a familiar cadence. They have made love to this one before. A faint but primal scent is in the air. The origin is certain; the fragrance is an unmistakable blend of the two of them. Everything is perfect, the time is right; intimacy is at its peak. Their gaze is unbroken; their union is penetrating, physically and emotionally; a smouldering combination. It is as though they have waited for months for this very moment, the anticipation is vast. They move back and forth in unison. The energy is building, one can feel the pulsation. She is breathing heavier now; driven by her hormones she is moving to a familiar rhythm, he follows her lead. He caresses her, ever so gently, in all the right places, she lets him know just where. They have been here together before, but never like this. “Oh Yes! Yes please! Yes, thank you, darling. Oh right there, yes, oh baby. You are doing it just right...
Read more