IBCLC Day – March 4, 2026
IBCLC® Day is celebrated annually on the first Wednesday in March.
IBCLC® stands for International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, which is the credential held by so many of our iLactation participants.
Parity and lactation enhances immunity and protects against breast cancer
Register for the IBCLC Day presentation.
Available online from IBCLC Day March 4 until April 4, 2026.
Women who have been pregnant and breastfed their children have lower rates of breast cancer, but the biological reasons for this protection have remained unclear. This presentation explores the relationship between pregnancy, breastfeeding, and breast cancer risk, and examines how these experiences strengthen the body’s immune system to provide long-term protection against the disease. Understanding these natural protective mechanisms could help researchers develop new prevention strategies that benefit all women, while also highlighting the important long-term health benefits of breastfeeding beyond infant nutrition.
Professor Sherene Loi is a Medical Oncologist specialized in breast cancer treatment as well as a clinician scientist (group leader) with expertise in genomics, immunology and drug development at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia. She is recognised internationally as a leading clinician scientist whose work has led to new insights into the breast cancer immunology field as well as leading international clinical trials in breast cancer immunotherapy. To date, she has published over 390 peer-reviewed research articles with a lifetime H-index of >113(Scopus). Her recent work has been highly influential: she has been ranked in the top 1% of highly cited researchers globally by the Web of Science since 2018. She Co-Chairs the International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) based in Bern, Switzerland, one of the largest global academic breast cancer trial cooperative groups. She is a current holder of the Inaugural National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) of Australia Endowed Chair and in 2021 received one the Prime Ministers’ Awards for Science.
Register for our IBCLC Day presentation: Parity and lactation enhances immunity and protects against breast cancer
IBCLC Day is also traditionally the first day of our March online breastfeeding conference. This conference is our 28th conference, Knowledge, kindness and connection in lactation, online until June 4, which is 3 full months of access. 20+ hours of education, providing CERPs, CNEs and CMEs for health professionals, plus amazing information and education for all lactation supporters. Go here to view the speakers, topics or click the button below to register now! Don’t miss it!
