Lisa Marasco is such a leader in the field of lactation. She has been working with breastfeeding families for over 35 years and has been Internationally Board Certified since 1993. She holds a Master’s degree in Human Development with a specialization in Lactation Consulting and was designated a Fellow of ILCA in 2009. Lisa is a co-author of Making More Milk: The Breastfeeding Guide to Increasing Your Milk Production, a contributing author to the Core Curriculum for Interdisciplinary Lactation Care, and a Cochrane Collaborative author. She recently retired from WIC of Santa Barbara County and her volunteer position with La Leche League. However, she still assists the California WIC Breastfeeding Committee as she continues to research, write, and speak.
She will be speaking at LactaLearning’s 2027 Annual Conference on Saturday, January 16, with Cathy Watson Genna.
Lisa will be presenting twice. One presentation will be PMOS- Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome phenotypes: A possible key to optimizing treatment strategies for low supply.
PMOS-Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (what was called PCOS) emerged as a potential risk factor for lactation over 25 years ago. Validating research has been mixed, with some studies showing modest correlations while others cast doubt on any correlations, despite clinical experiences and observations. Investigations extending to potential treatments for lactation problems in PCOS patients have been equally disappointing. One glaring omission in much of the research is the lack of recognition that PCOS is a syndrome with varying presentations rather than a disease with a distinct, specific set of causes and symptoms. Current trends in PCOS research are focusing on the phenotypes with an eye towards a more effective, individualized approach to therapy rather than assuming that one treatment is appropriate for anyone with the PCOS diagnosis. Understanding these phenotypes may also help lactation helpers zero in on treatment strategies more likely to address related lactation problems.
The second presentation will be FIL and milk production regulation: What have we learned?
It has long been understood in the animal lactation world that milk production quickly transitions from hormonal to local control in the days and weeks after birth. The mechanism of this control was believed to involve a why protein- FIL. Subsequent research shows a much larger, encompassing picture: homeostatic regulation. This session reviews the progression of this research and the factors likely involved in human mammary homeostasis.
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