Impact of Culture in Lactation Support

This course offers a deep, thoughtful discussion of the ways in which culture affects lactation, starting with the most basic information. It begins with foundational questions: What is culture? What elements make up a culture? How is culture learned?

Instructor Nekisha Killings, MPH, CLC, IBCLC, RLC, defines race, ethnicity, bias, stereotype, and culture, and describes the critical ways cultural differences affect lactation, from the choice to feed human milk to the age of weaning and everything in between.

This course also describes the difference between an older, limited model of care—cultural competence—and a newer approach, cultural humility, which combines knowledge of a culture with a heartfelt sense of respect, empathy, and sensitivity, and truly collaborating with your clients for the best possible care. Killings offers specific, actionable tips for how to provide culturally humble lactation care with plenty of examples.

Students will also learn about power dynamics in health care relationships, as well as the role of bias, including the opportunity to take an Implicit Assumptions Test right within the course to examine their own biases. Killings has studied the impacts of culture on lactation support extensively throughout her career and handles equity, inclusion, and belonging for LER. If you are ready to dive deeply into the topic of how culture affects lactation, examine your own beliefs and experiences, and set the stage for lifelong growth in this area, this course is for you. 

Notice: Due to IBLCE® changes, CERP recognition and domains after December 31, 2025 might be slightly different from previously approved recognition.

* If completed by December 31, 2025. If completed after December 31, 2025, application for Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) has been submitted to the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners®. For more information on this change, please see our blog.

Lactation Education Resources has been accepted by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) as a Preferred Provider for the listed Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) programme. Determination of CERPs eligibility or CERPs Provider status does not imply IBLCE’s endorsement or assessment of education quality. As a Preferred Provider, Lactation Education Resources attests that it complies with the WHO Code and subsequent WHA resolutions.

Price: $17.00