Functional Lactation Intensive
with Dr. Emily Spaeth
What is Functional Lactation?
Most feeding challenges don’t live in just one discipline. A baby who struggles at the breast may be dealing with tension from birth, an immature suck pattern, delayed milestones, or difficulty with state regulation.
Functional lactation brings all of those pieces together so you can see the full picture, find the root cause, and know when and where to refer… so your patients never fall through the cracks.
The Functional Lactation Intensive with Dr. Emily teaches you how.
Who is this program for?
Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Lactation Consultants who put hands on babies and want to deepen their expertise in infant neuromotor development, breastfeeding, and state regulation.
Dr. Emily supports physicians, midwives, and doulas with 1:1 mentorship by request.
Why Join?
Elevate Your Confidence: Gain the skills and insights you need to handle complex feeding cases with ease.
Tailored Growth: Receive mentorship designed specifically for your professional goals.
Collaborative Learning: Be part of a cooperative mentorship model where everyone grows together.
Immediate Impact: Start applying what you learn right away in your practice
How it works
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Join a supportive network of clinicians who are as passionate as you are about improving feeding outcomes for infants and families.
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This program is designed with flexibility in mind. Whether you can attend every call, or need to watch replays and post your questions after bedtime, we will make sure you make tangible changes in your practice.
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Get direct, actionable feedback on cases through videos of your your techniques to ensure you’re providing optimal care.
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Your questions and your clinical experience shape the conversation!
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You’ll come together with clinicians who care about this work as deeply as you do. If you’ve ever felt overlooked for the care you give, this group sees it, values it, and will cheer you on!
Next Cohort Begins January, 2027
"This is more than a program. It’s a relationship that can last a lifetime. I’d be honored to walk this path with you.”
Love, Emily
The Functional Lactation Intensive
What You'll Learn
Start with a shared foundation, then learn to see the whole baby and the whole dyad in every complex feeding case.
How it works
1Pre-work: four recorded lessons you watch on your own time before we meet.
2Eight core modules: the Functional Lactation framework, taught live to an expert cohort of like-minded clinicians.
3Live case reviews: two additional group calls where you bring your own cases and we work through them together.
Part one
Pre-work: The Foundation
Recorded lessons to complete before the group begins, so everyone starts from the same place.
Infant Feeding Reflexes
Rooting, suck, swallow, and the reflexes behind every feed.
Postural Reflexes and Motor Foundations
Why breastfeeding is a baby's first motor milestone.
The First Latch: The First Hours
The first hour after birth, and how to support a delayed latch.
The First Latch: The First Days
Early cues, red flags, and why early pain is information.
Part two
The Eight Core Modules
Each module is taught through complex cases and builds on the one before it.
The Whole-Dyad Framework
Six lenses for every case, so you know what's missing first.
State, Regulation, and Self-Organization
Support regulation, then fade containment as the baby organizes.
Cues, Compensation, and Feeding Tolerance
Refusal is communication, and good gain can hide hard work.
Birth History and Its Imprint on Feeding
How birth shows up in the body, and trauma-informed history.
Cervical, Cranial, and Postural Contributions
Neck, head shape, nerves, and when to refer.
Oral Motor Function and Tongue Mobility
Function over appearance, and how release fits a team plan.
The Lactating Parent
Anatomy, supply, flow, and pumping. The parent is half the assessment.
Clinical Reasoning, Handoffs, and the Plan
Prioritize, refer with confidence, and talk to families without fear.