Our History
The Annual Update for Breastfeeding Professionals began in 1999. It is organized by the registered nurse-certified lactation consultants of Asante , including Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center and Asante Three Rivers Medical Center. The Family Birth Center at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center serves as the referral center for southern Oregon and northern California for high-risk obstetrics and intensive care nursery and also provides care for uncomplicated mother/baby couplets. The Family Birth Center at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center serves the Grants Pass area with mother/baby couplet care and is a designated "Baby Friendly" unit. Our lactation consultants are dedicated to bringing the highest-quality speakers to our conferences to provide the best in continuing education for ourselves and our colleagues.
The first conference came about from a bequest in loving memory of Sharen Parslow-Strosser, RN, IBCLC. Sharen served in many capacities for Asante. She was a staff educator, a nurse manager, and, in fulfilling her lifelong dream, a pioneer in establishing the role of lactation consultants at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center. Sharen is remembered for her dedication to lactation, her nurturing of breastfeeding families, her devotion to education,and her ability to help us find the humor within ourselves and the world around us.
Timeline
2011
Focus: "Assessment of Low Milk Supply and Increasing Milk Production"
Speaker: Lisa Marasco, MA, IBCLC, FILCA
2010
Focus: “Challenges in Extending the Duration of Breastfeeding and Life in Balance” and “Ankyloglossia? Diagnosis and Treatment”
Speakers: Marianne Neifert, MD, FAAP; and Janelle Aby, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Stanford University
2009
Focus: “Animal and Human Biology of Breastfeeding”
Speaker: Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC
With special sessions by: Katherine Abdun-Nur, RN, IBCLC; Vicki Macy, RN; and Debbie Archer, OTR
With introduction by: Barbera Herzog- Taft , RNC, NNP, CNS; Nancy Baker, RN, IBCLC; and Mary Ellen Rhoades, IBCLC
2008
Focus: “Kangaroo Care”
Speaker: Nils Bergman, MD
With special sessions by: Katherine Abdun-Nur, RN, IBCLC; Suzanne Bowes, RN, IBCLC; and Barbera Herzog-Ta , RNC, NNP, CNS
2007
Focus: “Co-sleeping, Breastfeeding, and SIDS” and “Breastfeeding Education”
Speakers: James McKenna, BS, MA, PhD; and Amy Spangler, MN, RN, IBCLC
2006
Focus: “Baby-Friendly?”, “Breast Milk and the NICU Patient?”, and “Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome”
Speakers: Marie Biancuzzo, RN, MS, IBCLC; Nancy Wight, MD, FABM, FAAP; and Nisha Jackson, PhD, MS, CNP
2005
Focus: “Supplementation of the Breastfed Baby? The Selling Out of Mothers and Babies—Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes in the USA” and “Breastfeeding the Premature Infant and Kangaroo Care”
Speakers: Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC, President; and Ginna Wall, MN, IBCLC
2004
Focus: “Evidence-based Lactation Interventions in the NICU” and “Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome”
Speakers: Paula Meier, DNSc, RN, FAAN; and Nisha Jackson, PhD, MS, CNP
2003
Focus: “Essentials of Breastfeeding”
Speaker: Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC
2002
Focus: “Herbal Medicine in Breastfeeding” and “The Effect of Epidurals on Breastfeeding and Breastfeeding Assessment”
Speakers: Tieraona Low Dog, MD; and Jan Riordan, EdD, RN, IBCLC, FAAN
2001
Focus: “Using Medications in Breastfeeding Mothers”
Speaker: Thomas Hale, RPh, PhD
2000
Focus: “The New Millennium”
Speakers: Marianne Neifert, MD; and Pam Hellings, RN, PhD, CPNP
1999
Focus: “Leaving a Legacy…Planning for the Future”
Speaker: Molly Pessl, BSN, IBCLC
