Elacta 2024 – My takeaway

Another ELACTA report – to keep you interested I will talk about Sex and there
will be a link to a Free Book.

Following Mairead O’Sullivan and Fiona Reas reports from the ELACTA
conference I have just a few things to add from my own experience in Liege.
The Elacta Conference typically consists of three days – the first being a ‘pre
conference’ day, filled with workshops and meetings, the following two
conference days, a more traditional lecture format.

During the pre conference day there is a variety of subjects to choose from, and
I usually like to make a point of exploring the German-speaking workshops, as
it gives me a nice little peek into what is happening in the German speaking
countries, and look at similarities and difference in approach, practice and
resources.

Both workshops were delivered by IBCLCs that are part of EISL (European
Institute for Breastfeeding and Lactation ). Natalie Groiss from Austria
delivered the workshop on Breastfeeding and Mental Health, Simone Lehwald
from Germany (Director of EISL) delivered the workshop on Intuitive
Breastfeeding.

The first very pleasant surprise was that both workshops had a few
participants, around 12 IBCLCs some from Germany/Austria/Switzerland, and a
few non-native German speakers, some of which understood but did not speak
German, which did not cause any issues and communication effortlessly moved
between English and German. It was also very refreshing that the workshops
were both very interactive and cooperative, PowerPoints were used very
sparingly, full PowerPoint presentations on the subjects were made available to
access after the workshops.

So my first workshop was on Mental Health Issues and Breastfeeding - it was
probably not surprising that regardless of where we work, we all face similar
challenges when it comes to mother's mental health antenatally, after birth and
beyond. We had lengthy discussions on supports appropriate and available for
mothers during pregnancy and how to put plans in place for mothers with
preexisting mental health issues. Stark difference – the Austrians lamented that
a mother with postnatal mental health issues could only be accommodated at an
inpatient unit that could keep her and baby together 100 km away. I don’t think
we would complain about that here. Altogether, there seems a lot more support
for mothers with mental health issues in other European countries.

The second workshop I attended was on Intuitive Breastfeeding – which I know
know is the German way for saying Laid Back or Natural Breastfeeding. I love
the term and will very much use it from now on. It was a great very interactive
workshop. We had a detailed look at innate reflexes and how their sequence
helps baby to get to the nipple, latch and feed, we did group and pair work and
had fun with dolls, beanbags etc. Most enjoyable and informative. Again, more
info /PPT presentation available afterwards.

The theme of the conference was ‘The power of connection’, so the opening
talk of day 1 of the conference, ‘Sexual experiences during breastfeeding’
presented by Sam Geuens from BELGIUM seemed an appropriate start. That
was until I realised that Sam was indeed a man. Internally ranting about
ELACTAs nerve to start the conference with a man telling a 99% female
audience about SEX, I grumblingly settled down to listen, and was proven
entirely wrong. He was an inspired choice. Sam is a midwife and sexologist,
who presented on the subject in a straightforward open and practical way. He
stressed the importance of integrating open conversations on sexual health into
the care for the pregnant and postpartum couple and how shying away from
directly naming things, (ie saying ‘intimacy’ instead of ‘intercourse’) can
confuse things and is frequently not helpful. Best of all, his book on the subject
‘Midwifery and Sexuality’ is available for free
https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/61916 and well worth a read.

Other highlights for me – to name but a few-were Mara Ricoy Olariagas talk on
‘Breastfeeding as a Feminist Issue’, Laurel Wilson on ‘The Estrobolome and the
Mammary Gland’ and Kirsten Maertens on ‘Vaccination during breastfeeding,
immunisation through milk.’ And of course, the networking with colleagues
from all over Europe and beyond.

For anyone interested attending the Elacta conference in the future – it is well
worth it. Here are some tips:

If you are attending all three days, you have a choice to make for Day 1
workshops – choose the road less travelled. If you speak German or
French, consider workshops in that language. Also check for overlap with
main conference programme (some colleagues were a bit disappointed as
both the workshops they attended were essentially the same as a
conference presentation the following day).

• The sun does not always shine on the continent. Bring a raincoat. And a
  few pairs of extra socks.
• ELACTA usually gives a list of hotels/accommodation – and there is a lot
  of networking going on in the morning and evening
• The AGM is long, long, long. Perhaps bring a snack.
• You will be busy on conference days – so if you want to see anything of
  the city/area – give yourself a day (or more) before or after for
  sightseeing.

I am already planning my trip to Bucharest in 2026 !

Complied by: Naomi Hurley, IBCLC

Dated: 26th June 2024. 

Naomi received an entrance ticket and her expenses were paid by ALCI. ALCI Council would like to thank Naomi for her report.

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