Normalize Brown Breasts™: The Case for Proficiency in Breast Assessment on Non-White Skin Tones

Normalize Brown Breasts™: The Case for Proficiency in Breast Assessment on Non-White Skin Tones

humb through any lactation textbook and one fact is glaringly clear: fair-skinned breasts are over-represented. Attempting to reconcile this with the proportion of more deeply pigmented people around the globe leaves one wanting. How are practitioners to learn about the ways in which conditions present on clients of color if they do not see examples? How can people of color trust their practitioners to know and understand how conditions present on their skin if the first time they encounter it is in practice? This session will illuminate the harm that is caused by a lack of diverse imagery in lactation and build the case for a multi-pronged, systemic approach to equipping all IBCLCs to assess and support patients of color.

Credit: 1 E-CERP

Source: ILCA Virtual Conference August, 2022 - Raleigh, North Carolina, US

Presented by: Nekisha Killings, MPH, IBCLC (The Melanated Mammary Atlas)

Upon completion, the learner will be able to:

1. Determine whether their own assessment technique is adequate to support all populations
2. Articulate ways to identify key breast ailments in darker-skinned patients
3. State 3 components of thorough breast assessment

Disclosures: ILCA accepts no commercial support for continuing education activities. The activity planners have no conflicts of interest to declare. The presenter has no significant financial interest or other relationship with the manufacturer(s) of any product(s) or provider(s) of any services relating to the subject matter of this presentation unless otherwise stated in the presentation.

CERPs: ILCA is an approved provider of Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) with the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE). (CLT-108-7).