Events

Past Event Reports (Leader password required)

What Events Are Available?

Area: Conferences

• For Leaders, parents, professionals and general public
• Topics on breastfeeding, parenting, family, group work and related topics
• May include Continuing Education sessions for professionals

Area: Leader Workshops

Area: Stand-alone CE Events

• Continuing Education for health care professionals
• Feature professional speakers
• Planned cooperatively with the Professional Liaison Department

Division: TEAM meetings for Leaders every other year in the summer

• Meeting for all USWD Leaders
• Features topics of interest regarding making your Area and group work

La Leche League Area Conferences

An Area Conference is a one-to-three day event providing information on breastfeeding in a uniquely supportive environment. La Leche League conferences are remarkable because many breastfeeding advocates – La Leche League Leaders, mothers, fathers, children and health care providers - gather to celebrate breastfeeding and learn together. At the conference, Leaders, parents, health care providers, and other specialists lead a wide variety of sessions. An Area Conference is open to all who are interested in learning about breastfeeding and related topics.

If you’re considering attending a La Leche League conference for the first time, you may think this is too good to be true. You may wonder, “Can I really hear top-notch experts with my babe-in-arms? Can my family attend and find entertaining activities?” or “Will I benefit professionally from a lactation conference that also supports families?” Yes!

“I can’t believe all these women breastfeed!” is what one Leader remembers her grandmother exclaiming at her first LLL Conference. She continues her reminiscence, “Uncertain I could attend a conference with a newborn, my grandmother came along to help. When we walked into the lobby, bustling with happy mothers and babies, we were both amazed. Breastfeeding had skipped two generations in my family. My grandmother and mother both lacked essential information to enjoy a breastfeeding relationship with their babies.”

As children continue to grow and change, so does the need for parenting skills. The benefits of all the valuable information gained from attending a La Leche League Conference are a bargain in comparison to any college course and it’s all obtained in one weekend.

We’re family friendly!

Babies and children are a La Leche League conference’s most distinctive and heartwarming sights. Most include a Romp ‘N Roar room where toddler toys are available and little ones can unwind with their parent or caregiver. A Rock ‘N Rest room allows for quiet time and relaxation in the midst of a stimulating event. Session rooms are set up with the last few rows of seats removed and a basket of quiet toys. Children’s sessions and crafts are often available for the 6-12 year-old age group.

Families are an integral part of our conference. Many conferences offer sessions just for fathers; some offer a special tea for grandmothers. Conferences often feature family entertainment in the evening.
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Conference Highlights may include:

A Conference Bookstore and an Exhibit Hall where exhibitors are eager to share information and show off their products. At home you might have to drive all over town to find a comparable selection.

La Leche League Leaders will find Communication Skills workshops, technical breastfeeding sessions and sessions designed to enhance their experiences as Group Leaders. Often a new Leader ceremony creates meaningful and long-lasting memories. Attending a conference is a great way to satisfy one of the basic responsibilities of leadership: keeping up-to-date on breastfeeding information. There are opportunities to learn from speakers and via informal chats with other Leaders.

If you’re a health care provider, La Leche League conferences will further validate your work with mothers and babies while also providing the latest research on lactation. And you’ll be able to see breastfeeding in action. This meets the Healthy People 2010 goals. Many Conferences and CE workshops offer Continuing Education credits for health care professionals

No matter how much La Leche League conferences may differ, the essence remains the same. We welcome you whether you are searching for essential pieces of information as a first-time attendee or are a long-time supporter looking to stretch your knowledge. 

Join us at La Leche League events as we support, inform and inspire new generations of babies and families.

A Variety of La Leche League Events

Health Professional Seminars (HPS), CE workshops

The La Leche League Professional Liaison Department and Events Department work together in Areas to present in-depth lactation education workshops. The program is designed to enable lactation consultants, registered nurses, dietitians, WIC staff, La Leche League Leaders, childbirth educators, doulas, health educators, breastfeeding peer counselors, physicians and others interested in the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding to obtain a broader perspective on lactation issues, to identify factors that influence the breastfeeding experience and develop strategies to assist mothers in overcoming difficulties.

Continuing education credits for lactation consultants, nurses, and dieticians are available at most events.

Sometimes a CE workshop is stand-alone, other times it’s part of an Area Conference. It can be a separate day, or a CE track during the Conference.

Leader Workshops

Leaders and Leader Applicants gather to discuss topics relating to the Leader role such as breastfeeding research and management, counseling and communication skills, organization tips, working with health care providers, Series Meeting ideas and helping mothers prepare for leadership. Leaders have an opportunity to get the latest Area and Division news and to network with each other.

Another area of learning and reinforcement takes place when Leaders get together: support and encouragement for the kind of mothering we want to give our children.

A Leader workshop can be Area-wide or for one or a few neighboring Districts. It can be one day of an Area Conference. Some Areas alternate back-to-back CE workshop/Leader workshop and Area Conferences. They’re usually organized by local Leaders with the support of the Leader Department.

USWD TEAM meeting

Team is commonly defined as a number of people organized to function cooperatively as a group.  With that definition, USWD adds the meaning of the acronym - TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More.

Our TEAM meetings bring together Leaders from throughout the United States Western Division. We often include special guests like BOD members, consultants, specially trained mentors, etc. TEAM is held every other year in the summer, usually in a city with a hub airport to make it more convenient for Leaders to attend.  Sometimes sessions are offered in a self-organized meeting format (Open Space) so Leaders can choose the topics in which they are most interested in learning.  Many aspects of effective leadership skills and communication, Area administration, supporting Leaders, and Leader enrichment are offered.  These meetings provide abundant opportunities to network.

This is one of LLL’s greatest strengths – our network of Leaders who continually share and learn, enhancing the solid base of information and experience available to mothers
and babies.

Getting Involved in Conferences

The Events Team encourages Leaders to participate in Area events in several ways:

• Volunteer to speak at an Area Conference.
• Communicate the topics and speakers you and your community find relevant and exciting.
• Help secure advertising, exhibitors, and donations from businesses you patronize that are compatible with LLL philosophy and guidelines.
• Help keep our mailing list database current and meaningful: you know the health care providers and supporters of LLL in your community, so please send us this information.
• Encourage Leader Applicants, Group members, and families to attend Area events.
• Set aside a certain percentage of the Group income each year for Leader registration fees and consider Group fund raising to help pay conference costs.
• Help where needed as conference staff, Session Monitors, with children’s sessions, or the toddler playroom (Romp n’ Roar Room).
• Donate theme baskets made by your Group or Chapter to the conference.
• Attend the event and have fun!
• Use the Events Team as a resource to plan LLL events in your community.

Click for more info on the Events Department