Breastfeeding Medicine Doctors and IBCLCs working together? Many people in the field of lactation feel that these two groups compete with each other. Dr. Miena Hall, who owns Lactation MD, takes time to talk with Barbara about how she feels, as a Breastfeeding Medicine Doctor, that these two professions can work beautifully together to provide excellent lactation care to families.
Their philosophy is that “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. Infants are constantly growing and changing. Every day presents new challenges and new beginnings. Our desire is to provide lactation support to families on their infant feeding journeys, which may include breastfeeding, chestfeeding, expressed breastmilk feeding, donor breastmilk feeding, and formula feeding. Your parent-child feeding journey will be as unique as your baby’s (or babies’) footprints.”
Dr. Miena Hall is a breastfeeding and lactation medicine physician and researcher who has been supporting breastfeeding families since 2005. She graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College with her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and chemistry. She earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. She completed her family medicine residency at the University of Chicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale Hospital, her fellowship in breastfeeding and lactation medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and her T-32 postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
As the inaugural Director of Scientific Affairs at the Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, Dr. Hall will manage the milk bank’s research and grant projects, physician engagement and educational outreach, and outpatient milk programs. Her research focuses on skimmed milk for pediatric patients with fatty acid oxidation disorders, low milk production, the use of breast imaging to identify insufficient glandular development during pregnancy, and the development and implementation of breastfeeding-knowledgeable health systems.
Dr. Hall is passionate about breastfeeding education, teaching medical students at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students through the Mothers’ Milk Bank’s internship programs. She is also a member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) protocol committee on low milk production, a medical advisor to La Leche League International (LLLI), and the immediate past president of the Northern Illinois Lactation Consultant Organization (NILCA).
If you work with breastfeeding/chestfeeding families and are passionate about lactation support, or if you want to turn your passion for nursing into professional practice, visit us at LactaLearning.com and consider following us on social media!
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