Use of LARC Methods During Lactation

As a lactation professional, you will field questions from clients about using Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive Methods (LARC) while breast/chestfeeding. Are you prepared to answer with confidence? This class equips you with accurate, research-based information on the advantages and risks of LARC during lactation, as well as alternative methods. Your instructor, Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist, Certified Breastfeeding Specialist, and doula Leslie Southard, has spent her career focusing on medication use during pregnancy and lactation. In her signature clear, engaging style, Southard covers hormonal IUDs, non-hormonal IUDs, hormonal implants, and hormonal injections. You’ll leave this class confidently able to share with your clients:

• What each method is
• Reasons to choose it
• Reasons not to choose it
• Its pharmacology
• Its effectiveness
• The current data on its use during lactation, including impact on milk supply
• Its potential unintended consequences, and
• Additional alternative methods when LARC is not your client’s choice.

Because contraception is a personal and potentially loaded topic, Southard also invites you to think through your own beliefs and experiences so you can separate them from your professional role. You’ll leave with an understanding of the critical importance of a client-centered approach to LARC counseling and equipped to provide it in your practice.

This Course Awards:

1.0 L-CERPs, 1.0 Nursing Contact Hour