Advanced Lactation Skills
& Private Practice Tools
Online Program
Self-Paced Courses + Live 1:1 Mentoring
An intensive online program with self-paced learning and one-on-one live mentoring sessions, where you will gain all the clinical skills and knowledge you need to provide excellent care to your patients and to level-up your lactation practice.
about your mentor
Paola Vallarino IEP IBCLC CBS
Paola is a lactation specialist with over 10 years of medical background and extensive clinical experience in Lactation Medicine.
She is an Internationally Educated Physician, a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (L-303520), the gold standard certification for health professionals working with breastfeeding families. Paola also holds a Diploma in Child Nutrition. She’s always updating her knowledge with continuing education and she's also certified as a Pediatric Sleep Specialist and an Infant Craniosacral Therapist. Paola is an IBCLC mentor and guides students through their certification process by providing them with their lactation specific clinical practise.
Paola also specializes in tongue-tie and in recent years has developed extensive experience caring for babies with tongue-tie alongside pediatric dentists and medical experts in the area, including world-renowned expert Dr. Jack Newman, at the International Breastfeeding Center in Toronto. For several years Paola has been a mentor and guides her students in the certification process as IBCLCs through her clinical practice mentoring program.
about the program
As a doctor with some knowledge of breastfeeding, Paola always assumed she'd be well-prepared to breastfeed her baby when the time came. However, she encountered unexpected challenges that made breastfeeding more complex than she had anticipated. Despite seeking help from various health professionals, she ultimately had to independently research and address her breastfeeding difficulties. With unwavering support from her husband and access to different resources, she was able to successfully overcome her obstacles.
This experience led Paola to recognize the vital role of lactation specialists in maternal and child health care. Consequently, she undertook training to become a lactation specialist herself, identifying the need for improved education and updated practices within the field. Her training program emphasizes essential subjects to fully equip specialists in this rewarding profession.
Module 1:
Clinical Management of Low Milk Supply & Supplementation
- Weight gain of the breastfed baby, how to interpret growth charts
- Early supplementation and low milk supply
- Investigating low milk supply
- Syndrome of decreasing milk supply
- Assisted nursing
- Optimizing pumping: breast pumps, pump settings, flange fitting, creating pumping plans
- Bottle-feeding skills
Module 2:
Complex Infant Feeding Challenges: Tongue-ties, Oral Dysfunction and Complex Cases
- Infant oral anatomy and diagnostic skills for tongue-ties and oral dysfunction
- Oral habilitation and oral motor therapy
- Bodywork and physiotherapy as part of the lactation care plan: when and how to incorporate it to our treatment plan
- Optimal timing for frenectomies: how to create a treatment plan for tongue-tied babies. Adequate lactation support pre and post frenectomy.
- Strategies to support families with premature babies
- Bottle refusal and non-latching babies. Working with fussy babies. Oral aversion.
- Breastfeeding multiples
Module 3:
Clinical Management of Maternal Complications
- Ductal narrowing and mastitis
- Oversupply and engorgement
- Breast pain and nipple pain: how to investigate the causes and how to treat it
- Nipple healing
- How to adapt the care plan to the parent's goals and tolerance
Module 4:
Supporting Parents of Older Infants and Toddlers
- Weaning, from the theory to the practice: different approaches and how to create plans
- Starting solids: how to educate and guide parents on balancing breastfeeding, supplementation and solid meals; meal balancing and meal planning
- Sleep & Well-being in the breastfeeding dyad: normal infant sleep, parent expectations and how sleep consultants can support families as a whole with a holistic approach
Module 5:
Charting and Providing Extended Support
- Creating individualized lactation care plans
- Strategies to provide virtual support
- Home visits: everything you need to know to provide high-quality at-home support
- In-clinic consultations: office set up and logistics
- Charting templates for initial and follow up consultations, consent forms, strategies to collect payments and using the right software
- Insurance
BONUS!
Module 6:
Level-Up Your Lactation Private Practice
- Business coaching: goal mapping, accountability and building a team
- Finances: service fees, setting financial goals, income planning and money management
- Marketing: ads and strategies to bring more leads
- Selling online courses
- Teaching group classes
- Managing support groups for parents
- Leadership
- Mentoring: how to become a mentor, how to build a mentorship plan, contract template and tips on how to run your programs
what you will get
✔︎ 52+ HOURS OF LACTATION-SPECIFIC EDUCATION
This course covers more than half of the required training for the IBCLC exam, and these hours count for the exam.
This course awards 52 L-CERPs.
✔︎ ONE-ON-ONE MENTORING:
Two 1:1 coaching calls with your mentor to answer any questions related to your practice or how to provide better care to your patients
✔︎ GROUP SUPPORT, NETWORKING AND ACCOUNTABILITY:
Group mentoring through a private group with your mentor and fellow students to share your progress and find inspiration
✔︎ EXTENDED LEARNING:
Access to the recorded lessons for the duration of the program and for 6 additional months so you can re-watch as needed and take your time learning at your own pace! Plus, additional conferences with guest speakers
✔︎ COMMUNITY:
Our intention is to create an amazing community of healthcare professionals that connect for a lifetime and share their experiences with each other
This program is designed with 6 weekly modules to ensure a structured learning experience. With a generous 6 months of access, you have the flexibility to watch the lessons at a pace that suits you best. Most students find themselves completing the program comfortably within 2-3 months' time.
Paola is fluent in English and Spanish, all educational sessions and group support will be provided fully in English, 1:1 sessions and 1:1 chat support will be provided in both languages according to the mentee's preference.
testimonial
"Paola is an outstanding mentor with a wealth of information that needs to be shared with as many people as possible! I am honoured to have been able to work along side her over the past few months. It was an honour to complete my clinical hours with her. She was genuinely invested in the growth and development of my practice and learning. She truly put her heart in to making my time at Mamas Au Lait the best possible experience. Thank you for taking me under your wing Paola."
- Deena Z.
after completing the program you will:
♡ Treat patients with confidence
♡ Create life-changing lactation care plans for your patients
♡ Be a reliable resource for your patients and other lactation consultants
♡ Educate patients with a wealth of knowledge
♡ Be recognized in your field as a tongue-tie savvy practitioner
♡ Be ready to launch your private practice or to level-up your existing business so you can reach financial independence
♡ Be fully equipped to switch from one-time consultations to offering life-changing extended follow up for long-time patients that you will guide from pregnancy to weaning
If this is just what you need...
why wait?
You can join us for only $995 or two payments of $545.
Please know that you need to apply in order to be admitted into the program. We only have a few spots available every month, as our focus is to create an intimate and valuable experience
Please apply by clicking in the button below, you will hear from us shortly!
If your application is approved, you will be able to join us below to make your payment.
Advanced Lactation Skills & Private Practice Tools
US$995.00 or 2 monthly payments of $545
