2 E-CERPs

Yes, You CAN Talk About Bottles! 

Worried that mentioning bottles will put you in violation of the WHO Code?
Learn how to avoid those pitfalls and provide ethical bottle education.
Rachel O'Brien, MA, IBCLC, PMH-C
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Opens 11/14/2026

Abstract

Lactation professionals are told, often by other lactation professionals, that bottles are not our business. Families get a different message: they need help with bottles, and if we will not give it to them, someone else will. This course settles the question by going to the source documents.

Learners examine the IBLCE Detailed Content Outline and the Clinical Competencies for IBCLCs, and locate exactly where bottle feeding skills sit within the IBCLC scope of practice. From there the course turns to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, commonly called the WHO Code, and its treatment of feeding bottles and teats under Article 2. Learners work through what the Code actually restricts, who it binds, and how the IBLCE Code of Professional Conduct incorporates those obligations into the conduct expected of every certificant.

The final section of the course addresses the practice environment as it exists now rather than as it existed in 1981. Brand ambassador programs, affiliate codes, discount links, and sponsored content are routine offers to lactation professionals with an audience. Learners critically analyze a real-world ambassador solicitation, apply a conflict-of-interest framework drawn from the wider medical literature, and develop a defensible personal standard for what they will and will not accept.

Meet your instructor

Rachel O'Brien, MA, IBCLC PMH-C

Rachel O'Brien is an IBCLC with a MA in human lactation who runs a busy private practice in Boston and specializes in bottle refusal. Rachel works 1:1 with families to help their babies learn to eat from the bottle, without tears.
"I love it when the confusion clears and the families I work with realize that they know more than they think they do, and that their instincts are almost always right!"
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Rachel began her specialization in bottle refusal in 2019 and when the pandemic hit Rachel realized that bottle refusal had become a much more widespread feeding problem. Rachel developed a method for teaching parents how to re-frame their baby's "bottle refusal" and to work with their baby instead of against them. Rachel does 1:1 bottle refusal visits both in her office and virtually, and has worked with families across the USA and internationally. Rachel has presented on bottle refusal at national conferences and is known among parents and other professionals as a bottle wizard.  

Rave Reviews for Rachel

Rachel shares her knowledge in a clear and understandable way and then provides helpful examples that solidify the information in a “real world” way. 100% recommend!

Piper Prach, IBCLC

Rachel is a fantastic educator!  

Renee Neuens, RN IBCLC

I can not tell you how much I enjoyed this course. Rachel teaches in a way that makes everything so understandable. 

Kelly Menne, IBCLC

Knowledge Gap

The prevailing understanding among lactation professionals is that discussing bottles and teats is either outside the IBCLC scope of practice or prohibited by the WHO Code. Neither is accurate, and the confusion has real consequences. Practitioners who believe they cannot discuss bottles leave families to source their bottle education from social media, from retail staff, and from marketing copy written by manufacturers. Practitioners who believe the Code does not apply to them at all accept sponsorships and affiliate arrangements that a Code-literate colleague would recognize as a conflict of interest.

Too many IBCLCs have never read Article 2 of the Code in full, have not reviewed the Clinical Competencies since sitting the exam, and have never had occasion to distinguish clinical education from marketing in a case where the line is genuinely close.

This course closes that gap by working directly from the governing documents and then applying them to the situations practitioners actually face: a parent asking which bottle to buy, a manufacturer offering an ambassador role, a colleague posting an unboxing video.

Objectives

01

Identify what the IBLCE Clinical Competencies and Detailed Content Outline state regarding bottle feeding, and locate bottle feeding support within the IBCLC scope of practice.

02

Describe what the IBLCE Code of Professional Conduct requires of certificants with respect to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.

03

Distinguish clinical education about feeding devices from marketing of feeding devices, and apply that distinction to specific practice scenarios.

04

Critically analyze social media content and brand ambassador arrangements involving bottles and teats for conflicts of interest, and articulate a defensible personal standard for professional participation.

VII Clinical Skills [TK CERPs]

VII A1. Feeding devices
VII B4. Educating mothers and families
VII B5. Educating professionals, peers, and students
VII B6. Emotional support
VII C3. CPC
VII C5. WHO Code - 2 HOURS

Annie Frisbie IBCLC Inc has been accepted by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) as a Preferred Provider for the listed Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) programme. Determination of CERPs eligibility or CERPs Provider status does not imply IBLCE’s endorsement or assessment of education quality. As a Preferred Provider, Annie Frisbie IBCLC Inc attests that it complies with the WHO Code and subsequent WHA resolutions.

Course contents

Annie Frisbie IBCLC Inc has been accepted by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) as a Preferred Provider for the listed Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) programme. Determination of CERPs eligibility or CERPs Provider status does not imply IBLCE’s endorsement or assessment of education quality. As a Preferred Provider, Annie Frisbie IBCLC Inc attests that it complies with the WHO Code and subsequent WHA resolutions.
Open to learners carrying a valid lactation credential. Other registrants are subject to refund minus a $50 processing fee. Contact us if you have questions about your eligibility.
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Annie Frisbie IBCLC, Inc actively supports the World Health Organization (WHO) International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions. Therefore, Annie Frisbie IBCLC, Inc is not a company, inclusive of manufacturers, distributors, or marketers, whose products fall within the scope of the World Health Organization (WHO) International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (1981) and subsequent World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions (e.g., infant formula, bottles, and teats).

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