CHOP Lactation Expert Leads Conference in Thailand

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CHOP Lactation Expert Leads Conference in Thailand For the third consecutive year, CHOP Lactation Director Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, was a featured speaker at the International Conference on Breastfeeding Sick Babies. The three-day symposium, held March 11-13 in Bangkok, Thailand, drew more than 350 participants from every neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Thailand, as well as delegates from Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

The conference was created to help hospitals in Thailand to implement Dr. Spatz's 10-Step Model for the Use of Human Milk and Breastfeeding in Vulnerable Infants. It included seminars on breastfeeding promotion, how human milk helps sick babies, maximizing milk supply for mothers of sick infants, breastfeeding support for moms of hospitalized babies, and optimizing breastfeeding for late preterm babies.

So far, 16 hospitals have adopted Dr. Spatz's 10 Steps, while other NICUs in Thailand will continue to implement the breastfeeding model over the next several years. Dr. Spatz plans to return to Thailand in 2016 to reassess and evaluate the program.

The conference, held at the Century Park Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand, was hosted by the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health, and the Thai Breastfeeding Center Foundation.

While in Thailand, Dr. Spatz also provided consultation and lectures to staff at Mahidol University School of Public Health, Ramathibodi School of Nursing and Samitivej Hospital.