NDC Lactation Modules
What is in an NDC Lactation Module?
The NDC Lactation Modules provide the latest (genuinely) evidence-based information about how to make breastfeeding and lactation work as easily and enjoyably as possible. They are developed by Dr Pamela Douglas, GP-researcher, Breastfeeding Medicine Physician and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, assisted by The NDC Institute's Senior Medical Educator Dr Cassie Rickard.
Pam has worked for decades in the clinic supporting breastfeeding and lactating women, and her work and research publications concerning breastfeeding and lactation support are changing practice internationally.
The NDC Institute has decided to make these modules available for any interested member of the public. Whether you're a breastfeeding mother, parent, provider, or health professional, we strongly recommend that in addition to an NDC Lactation Module, you also purchase access to The Possums Sleep Program, if you don't already have access. This is because at the moment, whilst The NDC Institute and the parent-facing Possums site remain under development, important aspects of the NDC Lactation Modules build on the wealth of material available in The Possums Sleep Program.
What do the NDC Lactation Modules contain?
On each selected topic, an NDC Lactation Module contains
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Information and stories for parents (marked BSB)
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Content for health professionals.
Once completed, the NDC Lactation Modules will form a series of 13 modules, which cover all aspects of breastfeeding and lactation relevant to both breastfeeding women and those who care for them.
NDC Lactation Modules: Breastfeeding stripped bare (BSB)
The first part of each NDC Lactation Module is content written for breastfeeding women and those who love them as part of Breastfeeding stripped bare (BSB), currently under development. By the end of 2024 we also hope to have Breastfeeding stripped bare available as one single program under the Dr Pam & Possums parent-facing online content.
BSB is embedded in the very latest evidence and models about how to make breastfeeding work for a woman and her baby, and how to deal with breastfeeding challenges. This parent-facing breastfeeding and lactation content is written using stories and easy-to-understand language which makes sense of how to approach even the most complex breastfeeding and lactation problem.
NDC Lactation Modules: health professional content
This content for health professionals is created for experienced NDC Accredited Practitioners who are undertaking advanced NDC training in clinical breastfeeding and lactation support, but is also available to the public. You can find out more about the NDC Lactation Fellowship here.
Each module's health professional content contains, relevant to the topic
- NDC Clinical Guidelines (downloadable pdf)
- NDC Workbook (downloadable pdf)
- Pre-recorded videos (Dr Pamela Douglas)
- Text and audio content
- Theoretical foundations
- Clinical translations, available as a wealth of mandatory content for competent practice and optional content for your interest
- Relevant references and research publications.
How long will it take to make your way through each module?
Each module is expected to take a health professional at least ten hours of self-paced reading, listening or viewing of content marked mandatory.
However, each module contains about 30 hours of content to choose from in total.
For how long will you be able to access the module and its content?
You'll have 12 months from date of purchase in which to access the module and its content. If you wish to have access for longer, you'll need to re-purchase (at the same price).
What is different about NDC breastfeeding and lactation help compared to standard approaches?
Currently within our health systems there is widespread and unnecessary pathologising of breastfeeding women and their babies, and limited access to truly effective help available when common problems arise.
This is because the knowledge required to best help breastfeeding and lactation problems is still a research frontier. Unfortunately, many approaches to breastfeeding and lactation support use unnecessary and expensive pharmaceuticals, surgery or bodywork exercises, which lack an evidence-base and which, in the absence of evidence, often also lack a scientific physiological, functional or anatomic rationale.
But unnecessary treatments and exercises bring unexpected side-effects, and can even make breastfeeding challenges worse.
The NDC Lactation Modules offer effective ways to help women breastfeed, stripped bare of unnecessary treatments. We believe these modules are the way of the future in breastfeeding support, building on the NDC breastfeeding and lactation work which Pam has published in the international research literature.