Description
Breastfeeding is the most natural way to feed an infant, but it does not always come naturally—especially for families with preterm infants. Feeding specialists who work with infants need to have a foundational understanding of breastfeeding, including its importance, strategies to promote, protect, and support it, common challenges, and effective interventions to help both the infant and family succeed. This presentation will cover the benefits of human milk, the stages of learning to breastfeed, essential breastfeeding knowledge, and practical strategies to support breastfeeding—from the critical first hours after birth to the potential return to work. In this course, we explore approaches to protecting breastfeeding, identify best practices for assessing milk transfer at the breast, and discuss the steps needed to achieve an effective latch. We also review key points related to ankyloglossia and discuss common challenges associated with breastfeeding infants who have medical or congenital comorbidities. Additionally, we explore the distinction between volume and calories as measures of nutritional intake.
OBJECTIVES:
After attending this webinar, the participant will be able to:
- List one strategy for protecting breastfeeding
- Describe how to identify nutritive sucking at breast
- Explain steps to achieving an effective latch
- List two points from the AAP Consensus on Ankyloglossia
- Describe subsets of infants who struggle the most with breastfeeding in the Downs Syndrome population
- Explain why volume is not the best measure of nutrition in breastfed infants
AGENDA:
| 0:00 | – | 17:00 | Overview, benefits of breastfeeding |
| 17:00 | – | 31:30 | Promoting, supporting, protecting breastfeeding, health inequities |
| 31:30 | – | 52:30 | Establishing milk supply, basics of pumping and storing |
| 52:30 | – | 1:07:00 | Steps towards breastfeeding |
| 1:07:00 | – | 1:43:00 | Barriers and strategies: Milk quantity/quality concerns |
| 1:43:00 | – | 2:16:00 | Barriers and strategies: Problems with latch/suck, lack of information and
support, myths about breastfeeding |
| 2:16:00 | – | 2:45:00 | Barriers and strategies: Discharge and returning to work |
| 2:45:00 | – | 3:22:17 | Special populations and NICU-specific strategies, wrap up |
Course Information and Completion Requirements
Intended Audience: Speech Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapy Practitioners, Lactation Consultants, Registered Dietitians, Special Education Teachers, Psychologists, Physical Therapists, Early Intervention Specialists, Nurses, Physicians, and Mental Health Workers. Note: Training conferences are available for professionals only.
Course Level: This course is an intermediate level course: Information is geared to practitioners with a general working knowledge of current practice trends and literature related to the subject matter. Focus is on increasing understanding and competent application of the subject matter. Prerequisite – None
Instructional method: Video and quiz offered on your member’s dashboard through www.feedingfundamentals.com, using the platform LearnDash. Monthly question and answer sessions are offered for a period of three months beginning at the time of purchase, and the participant will be sent details for joining these Q&As after registering.
Content Disclosure: None
Access Information: This video training was updated in December of 2025. Course available for ASHA CEUs beginning February of 2026.
To ensure Learners successfully achieve the Learning Outcomes above and to satisfy the completion requirements and continuing education credits, all attendees are expected to watch the webinar course in its entirety. Attendees are required to complete an attestation that they viewed the entire webinar course. This course is not offered for partial credit. Click for full policy for attendance
Requirements for this course must be completed within 3 months of purchase. The requirements for completion are as follows:
- View the video in its entirety and attest that the person registered is the person who is watching the course and requesting the certificate of completion
- Pass a 10-question multiple choice quiz with a score of 100% (may be taken repeatedly and the quiz is available as a handout to identify the questions)
- Complete the course evaluation
If requesting ASHA CEUs, you must inform us at the time of registration.
Presenter Information
Presented by: Erin Sundseth Ross, PhD, CCC-SLP, CLC is a Speech Pathologist with a Doctoral degree in Clinical Sciences – Health Services Research. She completed a two-year post-doctoral training in the Section of Nutrition and is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, at the University of Colorado Denver. She is also on faculty at the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. Dr. Ross has over 30 years of experience working in the NICU within several HealthONE hospitals, and with older children when she was at the SOS Feeding Solutions clinic in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Ross is the creator of SOFFI®, a feeding program for use in the NICU. She has specialized in the development of feeding skills, and the etiology and treatment of feeding and growth problems in infants and very young children from initial hospitalization through the first 5 years of life.
Speaker Financial Disclosures: Erin Ross is the owner of Feeding Fundamentals, LLC and owns the intellectual property (inclusive of SOFFI®) and receives a salary. She also receives a salary as a faculty member of the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions and as a Developmental Specialist for the HealthONE Hospital Systems. Dr. Ross is also a paid consultant for Gerber Baby Foods (Nestec) and Intertek. She is paid as a speaker for Toomey and Associates, Inc. and receives royalties for content.
Speaker Non-financial Disclosure: Dr. Ross is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is a Member of the Consensus Committee– Developmental Care Standards for Infants in Intensive Care, and has written related book chapters for Elsevier and Thieme Publishers.
Policies
ADA Accommodations: Feeding Fundamentals, LLC complies with ADA provisions. Every effort will be made to accommodate requests. Virtual offerings of courses are held with closed-captioning available to all, and the captioning is also available in 30+ languages. If you require special accommodations or need assistance, please contact Gina Gass at [email protected]. Requests must be made at least two weeks in advance of necessary accommodations.
Cancellations: Cancellations are accepted minus an administrative fee of $25.00 up until two weeks prior to the offering. After that time, cancellations will not be accepted but the participant may join a different virtual event offered within 6 months of the original course offering without penalty. Participants must attend an event within the 6 months of the original course offering or forfeit their registration. Click here for full policy on cancellations.
Complaints: Feeding Fundamentals, LLC takes complaints seriously and we will work to resolve them. Please send us an email at [email protected] with any concerns, within 2 weeks of completion of the course. Click here for full policy on complaints.
This course is offered for 0.35 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate Level, Professional content area). This course is not offered for partial credit. ASHA CE Provider approval and use of the Brand Block does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products or clinical procedures.
Feeding Fundamentals, LLC is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. PD activity approval ID# 12889 This Distance Learning – Independent event is offered at 0.35 CEUs, Intermediate, Foundational Knowledge/Occupational Therapy Service Delivery. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
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