Botanical Medicine for Lactation & Beyond

Presented by Melissa Cole, MS, IBCLC

Hosted by Milk Time Birth & Lactation

Course Description:
This workshop is designed to enrich the health professional’s understanding of how herbs can be used for lactation and infant issues. Plant medicine around the world has traditionally been an important part of postpartum care for parents and babies. In this workshop, we will cover herbal care strategies for parental issues such as milk supply concerns, perinatal mood concerns, breast/chest and nipple health concerns, and more. Botanical medicine for pediatrics will focus on digestive problems, teething, immune support, and sleep. This course will provide learners with a solid foundation in critical thinking about herbal selection, safety and contraindications, resources for clinical practice and dosing strategies.

The workshop size will be kept small so that learners can really immerse themselves into the topics and material. Case studies, group discussions, and perhaps some hands-on work with herbs, will all be a part of this amazing experience!

DETAILS:

  • September 13, 2025
  • 9am-4:30pm
  • Location: Health Education Center at PeaceHealth Southwest in Vancouver, Washington
  • Registration Fee: $350, with early bird pricing of $300 until July 1st
  • Includes 5.75 IBLCE CERPs and 1 year free access to the Luna Lactation Herbal Database!

AGENDA:

  • 9:00-9:15 registration, settle in
  • 9:15-11:15 am Herbal Care Basics and Beyond
    • Herbal safety: References, resources, contraindications, herb-drug interactions, etc
    • Critical thinking around botanical support
    • How herbs work to impact physiological function/ pharmacodynamics
    • Herbal support for lactation, milk production
    • Perinatal Mood
  • 11:15-11:30 am break
  • 11:30-12:30 Case Studies group work
  • 12:30-1:30 Lunch
  • 1:30-2:45 Perinatal Health
    • Thyroid, adrenals, inflammation, pain, etc
  • 2:45-3:00 pm Break
  • 3:00-4:00pm Pediatric wellness
    • Safety and dosing strategies
    • Common concerns: Teething, digestive, sleep, soothing
  • 4:00-4:30 wrap up, Q&A

IBLCE Blueprints:

  • I. Development and Nutrition, A. Infant
  • III. Pathology, A. Infant
  • III. Pathology, B. Maternal
  • IV. Pharmacology and Toxicology
  • V. Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology
  • VII. Clinical Skills, B. Education and Communication

Cancellation and Refund Policy – A full refund (minus paypal fees) will be provided if your cancellation is requested before 30 days of the event. If you need to cancel your registration within 14-30 days of the event, we will refund you 50% of your registration. Refunds will not be provided if cancellation occurs 0-14 prior to the event. If there are extenuating circumstances, please contact us ASAP to discuss options.

We reserve the right to cancel any event prior to departure for any reason whatsoever, including an insufficient number of participants, or unforeseeable logistical problems (e.g. acts of God, war, strikes, pandemic, etc.), which may impede retreat operations. An event cancellation due to insufficient numbers would normally occur at least a month prior to departure, unless unforeseeable events impede the event overall.

In the event of cancellation, we will make every effort to refund registrants, minus any nonrefundable supplier fees we have already paid. However in the case of an unforeseeable event, we will not be held liable for providing a refund or have any further liability.

FEEDBACK

  • Excellent presentation. It will really help me to refine how I discuss herbal support with my clients.

    Workshop Participant
  • Thank you for an excellent presentation. I am so happy to see a galactagogue talk from an herbalism perspective.

    Workshop Participant
  • Melissa, very informative! I appreciate your advice to start slow, improve my knowledge of three herbs well, rather than minimal knowledge of many. Great detailed information of the lactogenic foods as well.

    Workshop Participant
  • Wonderful presentation, Melissa. I learned a lot. Bookmarked a lot of great resources, too! Thank you.
    K.C.
  • I just wanted to write an email as we are finishing up this course and congratulate you on a job well done. You are really doing such a great service, I love how you answer questions and help your students solve problems and get great quality information. So many ladies who are nursing use herbs and it is really awesome to see someone so competent training. It is great for me too. Lactation is not something that was thoroughly covered in any of my course work as deeply as other subjects and I am happy to take your course and I feel confident if something comes up contacting you for mentoring help since you work in this area so much.

    E.L - Online Course Participant
  • I've enrolled in three webinar courses over the past nine months and several others over the years. This course was excellent. This is what I think you did so well:

    1. Clear focus of the course and clear agenda for each module. This was lactation/infant specific and avoided slipping into more pediatric maladies or maternal general health.
    2. Your weekly video introduction to each module was personal and also set us up for learning specific topics.
    3. Beautiful and clear slides. The photos are lovely, the text was legible and not crowded with information.
    4. The follow up on FB was helpful. I enjoyed being able to share ideas and resources. I felt like I was in a class with an attentive teacher.
    5. The case studies made us put the information into action. I look forward to keeping in touch with the FB group.

    Online Workshop Participant
  • Well done Melissa! Yours was the best online course I took all year and I’m using what I learned with all my clients….I have taken other trainings on herbs but didn't feel fully confident in suggesting them to clients until taking Melissa's course. Her Plant Medicine chart was one of the best educational tools I've ever used, and I refer to it all the time. I highly recommend this course not just to learn about herbs, but to develop your critical thinking skills.

    Annie Frisbie MA, IBCLC
  • Thoroughly enjoyed this course and the ability to take it at my own pace and re-watch modules. It was full of useful information, well organized, and a balanced perspective! Thank you!!

    Online Herbal Course student, IBCLC
  • I just want to thank you so much for this amazing course. I can tell how much time and effort you put into this and I so appreciate it how detailed it is. Clearly the info on the galactagogues was quite helpful. I always feel lost when trying to help guide my clients because I'm not an herbalist but I do see that they really can help. At least now, I feel better able to match herbs with conditions. Thank you so so much!

    IBCLC, online course participant
  • I love it all! I will take all workshops taught by you.

    Herbal Support Course Participant
  • ...I loved the practical recipes, the resources, the depth of information in the lessons. I also knew that it was important to have good sources of supplements, but I don't think I realized HOW important. This was an amazing class and I'm so thankful I got to participate!

    Online Course Participant
  • I absolutely love this course and feel drawn to learn more. I would love to have an herb pantry to experiment for myself and my family! Thank you

    Online Herbal Course Participant
  • I had definitely not been recommending therapeutic doses for my clients and I'm so glad I have better knowledge about appropriate dosages now! Thank you so much! This was fabulous!

    Online Herbal Course Participant
  • This course by far is one of the most amazing courses I have ever taken and believe me I took many.  Thank you for this course.

    Pharmacist, Herbal Course participant
  • I took the class with an interest in herbs to help with supply issue. But discovered herbs for postpartum issues, and stress and and herbs to help with mastitis and breast pain and baby’s colic. Such a wealth of information. Thank you Melissa. Eager to go back over the articles and continue learning.

    Online Herbal Course Participant
  • This was a thoroughly enjoyable class! Melissa's deep understanding of the subject matter was impressive. I took 5 pages of notes on herbs!

    Beyond Fenugreek Participant
  • This workshop was so informative! All the modules and videos were broken down into clear and concise education topics. Thank you for taking the time to put the education modules, videos, homework, discussion topics, recommended reading and case studies together!

    Online Herbal Course Participant
  • I LOVED the workshop and I can definitely say it changed the way I practice - and it truly changed the outcomes for a lot of the families I am working with! Thank you so much!

    Online Herbal Course Participant
  • I find remembering which herb works best for what to be intimidating. Going through and filling out the Plant Medicine Chart made me feel like I was truly getting a deeper understanding and that some mastery was possible. I've been putting what I've learned from you in to practice and it's a joy to see families benefiting from more holistic care. Thank you Melissa!

    Online Course Participant
  • I am an herbalist, previous to this course. This course let me be less wary and more confident in my skills and knowledge of herbs! It very greatly inspired me to keep learning and keep pursuing what I love. And good resources listed for checking safety and interactions.

    Course Participant
  • Realizing just HOW MUCH herbs can actually do and that I can recommend herbs that will not only have an impact on milk supply but also on postpartum mental health. Fantastic course that has helped me become more confident in making personalized herbal recommendations for my clients. Thank you!

    Online Herbal Course Participant
  • Thank you! So informative. I'm looking forward to helping out families and am more confident when recommending herbal products. I really enjoyed all the modules. I'm a little sad that I'm done! Recommending herbs is not as scary as I thought it would be. I love the way the Plant Medicine Chart is organized. Makes it so practical and less intimidating.

    Online Course Participant
  • Recommending herbs is not as scary as I thought it would be. I love the way the Plant Medicine Chart is organized. Makes it so practical and less intimidating. Thank you! So informative. I'm looking forward to helping out families and am more confident when recommending herbal products.

    Online Course Participant
  • The triangle approach really helps to simplify what may feel like a complex situation, and also knowing that herbal medicine is more of a craft/art than an exact science and that getting to know each herb like a friend with it's complexities and uniqueness, can be the most important element in providing guidance for utilizing their medicine.

    Online Course Participant
  • I love the handouts. Clear, easy to follow and teach from, great photos. Thank you for creating and sharing them with other LC's. I've been an IBCLC for 12 years, recently transitioning from hospital to private practice. I've listened to hundreds/thousands of lactation presentations over the years. I just started my Herbal Support course, and I have to complement you Melissa, you have a gift in public speaking.  The lessons are well organized, the presentation of the material is excellent, you clearly are prepared and know the data as you elaborate on each slide. Well worth the investment in time and money. Thank you for sharing! In addition, you were probably my favorite presentation in the most recent GOLD Tongue Tie Symposium.  You share the facts and tangible tools in a clear, organized and professional platform. Much appreciated. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

    P.H., IBCLC
  • Melissa was thoughtful, respectful, easy to understand, and very patient with all of our questions!

    Workshop Participant
  • Melissa, I have said this before and I will say it again, you provide well thought out presentations and I absolutely love that you are willing to answer questions in a non-judgmental manner. It definitely allows for further interest and desire to learn more. Thank you for this course. Looking forward to course 2:)

    Online Course Participant
  • Excellent course. I thoroughly enjoyed it, learned so much, and will be revisiting all the supplemental materials often. All of the data/citations are so helpful. Thank you!

    Course Participant
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