World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is a global celebration held every August to raise awareness about the vital role breastfeeding plays in supporting the health and development of babies and mothers. At Canadian Premature Babies Foundation (CPBF), this week is especially meaningful. Breastfeeding a preterm baby can come with unique challenges—but it is not only possible, it’s incredibly powerful. Human milk provides essential nutrients and protective benefits that are especially critical for premature infants, supporting their growth, immunity, and long-term outcomes. Each year, CPBF celebrates WBW to shine a light on the strength of preemie families, advocate for greater support, and help ensure every premature baby has the opportunity to benefit from breast milk.
Every year we host a special Preemie Chat to celebrate and educate. Please see the information below to watch last year's chat.
Recording
World Breastfeeding Week Special: The Power of Human Milk
Feeding a preterm baby isn’t easy, whether it’s breastfeeding, chestfeeding, pumping, or using donor milk. But every drop matters, and every journey holds power. In this special Preemie Chat for World Breastfeeding Week, we spoke with leading experts from across North and South America to explore the powerful role of human milk in preterm care. Our guests included Dr. Prakeshkumar Shah, Dr. Erin Hamilton Spence, Dr. Sharon Unger, and Dr. Marianna González
Speakers
Dr. Prakeshkumar Shah
The Importance of Mother’s Own Milk in NICU
In this session, Dr. Shah will present findings of their recently published paper comparing neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm neonates in relation of intake of mother’s own milk, donor milk and formula milk. He will highlight the importance of mother’s own milk feeding during the NICU stay.
Bio:
Dr. Prakesh Shah is Chief of Pediatrics and a Professor in Department of Pediatrics and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is the director of the Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN) and an International Network for Evaluation of Outcomes of Neonates (iNeo) whereby he oversees a project of benchmarking outcomes of very low birth weight neonates in eleven countries, with a final aim of improving quality of care to neonates and families worldwide. He is engaged in several policy and advocacy work with his role in executive committees and advisory board membership at local, provincial, national, and international levels.
Dr. Sharon Unger
The human milk microbiome
The human microbiome is a critical element in maintaining health with functions ranging from immune protection to nutrient digestion and even brain development. Preterm infants are at risk for disturbances in the development of their microbiome. This talk will focus on how human milk impacts the development of the early microbiome.
Bio:
Dr. Unger is from New Brunswick and graduated from Dalhousie University Medical School. After a long stint as a neonatologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, she has returned to her roots in the Maritimes and is now working at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. She is additionally the medical director for the Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank and the Co-Primary Investigator for the MaxiMoM: Maximizing Mother's Milk program of research in early childhood nutrition.
Dr. Erin Hamilton Spence
Milk as Message:
Learning the Language of Human Milk
In this illuminating 20-minute talk, Dr. Erin Hamilton Spence explores how human milk functions not just as nutrition, but as a dynamic biological communication system. From sIgA to HMOs, learn how milk delivers instructions for immunity, tolerance, and growth—and why recognizing its messages can transform neonatal care, clinical policy, and parental empowerment.
Bio:
Dr. Erin Hamilton Spence is a neonatologist and has practiced neonatology with Pediatrix of Fort Worth since 2008. Throughout her clinical career, Erin has led efforts to expand access to human milk, improve milk handling and nutrition quality systems, and advance education for both clinicians and families. She became an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2017 and earned the Certified Neonatal Provider in Lactation (NABBLM-C) credential in 2024.
The daughter of two teachers, Erin grew up with a deep respect for clarity, compassion, and learning. That foundation became personal and professional when her first child was unexpectedly admitted to the NICU while she was a medical student. That moment of profound vulnerability shaped her lifelong commitment to improving NICU care and honouring the role of families in it—especially through human milk.
As a mother, she breastfed her own children for a total of 74 months and donated thousands of ounces of excess milk—experiences that deepened her conviction that every family’s feeding journey deserves to be seen, respected, and supported.
She is the Director of Clinical Education & Professional Development at Prolacta Bioscience.
Dr. Marianna González
Breastfeeding Preterm Babies: Redefining Priorities
This lecture highlights the Brazilian POP-MOM protocol, a low-cost strategy involving the prolonged oropharyngeal administration of mother’s own milk (MOM) to very preterm infants in the NICU. Applied from birth until oral feeding begins, this approach was associated with increased MOM use at discharge and improved head growth, without adverse effects. Drawing from Brazil’s experience in a high-complexity neonatal unit without donor milk, the session emphasizes how early and sustained MOM exposure can enhance breastfeeding outcomes and inform global NICU practices
Bio:
Dr. Mariana is a professor of Neonatal Medicine at the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre and a Neonatal Consultant at Hospital Moinhos de Vento. Her research interests include neonatal nutrition, human milk, and breastfeeding in preterm infants. She coordinates the University Extension Program "Science for Mothers" and hosts the Portuguese version of The Incubator Podcast. She is also involved in incorporating digital media and science communication into medical teaching
We are proud to support the 7th celebration of Indigenous Milk Medicine Week (IMMW), taking place from August 8–14, 2025!
In honour of this year’s theme and the vital role of traditional knowledge and community in nourishing our youngest and most vulnerable, we’re hosting a special edition of Preemie Chats dedicated to Indigenous Milk Medicine and its importance in the care of premature babies.
Speakers
Candi Edwards
Association of Enteral Feed Type with Neurodevelopmental and Neonatal Outcomes among Infants Born Preterm
Bio:
Candi Edwards is an experienced professional with extensive expertise in Indigenous advocacy, particularly in the areas of perinatal care, early childhood learning, youth development, and healthy living. Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in community advancement, capacity building, planning, and service projects at the regional, provincial, and national levels. Her work is dedicated to promoting the wellbeing and growth of First Nations communities.
Candi Edwards has been the Director of Approaches to Community Wellbeing (public health) at Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority since September 2023. Prior to that, she was in the Associate Director and Manager of the Raising Our Children program roles. She was previously with the Ontario Native Women’s Association’s Aboriginal Healthy Babies Healthy Children program in Sioux Lookout for more than fifteen years and worked for the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council for several years before that. She is a proud member of the Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek, a mother of three, a sister to many, a wife, a daughter, and a granddaughter.
Thanks to our sponsor Medela for making sessions like these possible.