ALPI began in India as a socially-focused lactation association to "provide, protect, promote and partner for breastfeeding" in 2016. We have included highlights and events since the beginning. ALPI continues to grow in members and impact. Let's celebrate together!
2016 & 2017
2016 ALPI First Meeting, March 2016 ALPI's 4 founding members (Dr Shacchee Baweja, Dr Priya Shashank, Camilla Conti, Dana Hardy) met together in New Delhi. This was the beginning of ALPI's formation and birth.
ALPI Established, August 2016 ALPI's Executive Team met together in New Delhi to draft ALPI's Handbook and other important documents. ALPI ET 2016/ 17: Dr Shacchee Baweja, Dr Priya Shashank, Camilla Conti, Dana Hardy
2017 ALPI Lactation LLP Incorporated, 9 Mar 2017 ALPI officially registered with the GOI as "ALPI Lactation LLP." The Executive Team continued to support ALPI through administrative work. ALPI's 1st Conference, August 6, 2017 ALPI hosted its 1st onsite conference in New Delhi with the theme, "Sustaining Breastfeeding TOGETHER." There were over 100 participants from all over India. Trained Nurses' Association of India (TNAI) Conference, August 2017 ALPI Executive Team members were invited to give sessions during "World Breastfeeding Week" 2017, to provide education about supporting families with skilled lactation care to nurses.
ALPI First World Breastfeeding Week Celebration, August 2017 ALPI's Executive Team celebrated WBW in locations throughout India by giving seminars, training and providing skilled lactation care.
ALPI Membership Opens, November 2017 ALPI's Executive Team opened membership to lactation professionals (LP) across India. ALPI started with 4 founding members, and now has members all across India!
Total ALPI Members 2017 04 Members
2018
ALPI Executive Team @ ILCA, July 2018 Shacchee Baweja and Dana Hardy, from the ALPI's Executive Team, joined lactation professionals from all over the world at the ILCA conference in Portland, USA. ALPI is global!
ALPI Executive Team Meeting, Oct 2018 ALPI's Executive Team met to plan, discuss and execute decisions to provide, promote, protect and partner for breastfeeding in India. ALPI's ET met in Ludhiana for these meetings. ALPI ET 2018: Dr Shacchee Baweja, Dr Priya Shashank, Camilla Conti, Dana Hardy
ALPI Launched Members' Webinars, Oct 2018 ALPI began virtual webinars for members, focused on various topics involving supporting families during lactation.
Total ALPI Members 2018 16 Members
2019
ALPI Launched Online Mentorship Program, January 2019 ALPI Executive Team began the "Online Mentorship Program." ALPI Members can take onsite and virtual mentoring sessions with experienced lactation professionals.
ALPI Launched Monthly Meetups ALPI continued to support members through education and training. In 2019, ALPI launched monthly Member Meetups. This is a way to support and connect with ALPI Members from around India.
ALPI ET @ WHO/ UNICEF BFHI Pilot Project, March 2019 Dr Shacchee Baweja and Dana Hardy represented ALPI at the BFHI Pilot Project in New Delhi. They supported the project as trainers during the March BFHI Training. Dana Hardy then supported the project to customize the curriculum from 2019-2020 with WHO/ UNICEF.
ALPI @ ILCA, July 2019 Dana Hardy, from the ALPI's Executive Team, joined lactation professionals from all over the world at the ILCA conference in Atlanta, USA. ALPI is global!
ALPI Executive Team Meeting, October 2019 ALPI Executive Team met in Dehradun to discuss, plan and execute for the coming year. ALPI ET 2019: Dr Shacchee Baweja, Dr Priya Shashank, Camilla Conti, Dana Hardy
Total ALPI Members 2019 32 Members
2020
ALPI Membership Drive, January 2020 ALPI's ET updated the membership process to increase ALPI's Members' impact across India. Membership continues to grow each year...
ALPI Member Meetups, Jan- Dec 2020 ALPI's monthly Member Meetups continued in 2020. Find the details on ALPI's History page.
ALPI Collaborated with Begin Ed India for I-LEH Program, 2020 ALPI and Begin Ed India now offer Indian Lactation Education Hours for continuing education for ALPI Members and other students growing skilled lactation care.
ALPI ET Meeting Virtually, Spring 2020 ALPI ET 2020: Dr Shacchee Baweja, Dr Priya Shashank, Camilla Conti, Dana Hardy
ALPI @ GOLD Lactation Conference 2020 Dr Shacchee Baweja (ALPI's ET) gave a virtual session on her experiences and work in the lactation field.
ALPI/ BEI Launched Online Lactation Clinical Program (OLCP), Summer 2020 ALPI partnered with Begin Ed India to offer India's first batch of "Online Lactation Clinical Program." This program allowed students to meet with experienced instructors in small batches virtually. Growing together...
ALPI Celebrated WBW 2020 Virtually ALPI hosted an online session with ALPI Members focused on “Supporting breastfeeding for a healthier planet.” COVID continued across India, but ALPI continues to meet and encourage its members.
ALPI collaborated for India's Online Lactation Conference, Oct 2020 ALPI collaborated with BEI and HappyMom India to offer India's Online Lactation Conference (I-OLC). There were over 100 participants from across India.
Total ALPI Members 2020 61 Members
2021
OLCP 2nd Batch, Mar 2021-May 2021 ALPI/ BEI offered the 2nd batch of the OLCP including Course A and Course B with several small groups of growing students.
ALPI Executive Team Meeting, May 2021 ALPI's ET meets virtually for the annual executive team meetings.
ALPI @ ILCA 2021, Virtually Dr Shacchee Baweja and Dana Hardy (ALPI's ET) gave a virtual session for the ILCA Conference. The session was about the growing lactation field in India, "Sath Sath Chelna/ Walking Together in India: Stories of Hope and Growth from India's Lactation Field"
ALPI Celebrated WBW, Aug 2021 ALPI hosted a contest with the question, "How do you impact your community with skilled lactation care?" We heard from ALPI Members who are impacting their communities. This year's WBW theme was, "Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility."
ALPI Collaborated for India's Online Lactation Conference, Oct/ Nov 2021 I-OLC continued with ALPI/ BEI for the 2nd year, with over 100 participants and national speakers. This year participants earned CERPs and I-LEHs for continuing education credits.
3rd Batch OLCP, Nov 2021-May 2022 ALPI/ BEI launched the 3rd batch of the OLCP Program. This included students who were being trained to become "Assistant Clinical Instructors." Both Course A and Course B was offered.
ALPI Meetup Wisdom Series, Nov 2021-June 2022 ALPI launched a new series, focused on hearing wisdom from Indian lactation leaders. Different lactation professionals presented their favorite cases and lessons with ALPI Members.
ALPI Partnered with CFSI Foundation, Nov 2021 ALPI partnered with CFSI Foundation (Dehradun) to achieve non-profit status and administrative support. ALPI functions under CFSI Foundation's organizational structure as a long-term program. CFSI Foundation provides administrative and technical services and support to ALPI for ongoing growth.
ALPI's Updated ET and Advisory Team (AT), Dec 2021 Executive Team (ET): Dr Shacchee Baweja, Dana Hardy, Jessica Gabriel (Term: Dec 2021-Nov 2024) ALPI introduced a new Advisory Team (AT) including: Camilla Conti, Dr Taru Jindal, Srikanthi Bodapati (Term: Dec 2021-Nov 2023)
Total ALPI Members 2021 107 Members
2022
ALPI Members' I-LEH Certificate Program Began, Jan 2022 ALPI Members received I-LEH Certificates for attendance at Member Meetups in 2021. Each year, ALPI Members will receive an annual certificate with the total hours received for continued education.
ALPI's Updated Mission and Values, Jan 2022 ALPI ET updated ALPI's Mission and Values. Now at each monthly Member Meetup the members meet with the foundation of ALPI's Mission and Values. ALPI's Mission: 4 Ps (Providing, Protecting, Promoting, Partnering) ALPI Values: Professionalism, Teamwork, Respect, Solidarity
ALPI's Action Committees Launched, Feb 2022 ALPI launched 2 new Action Committees for active ALPI Members, focusing on expanding ALPI's mission together. This is a 2 year term committment, chosen by ALPI's ET (Term: Feb 2022-Jan 2024). AC I: Practice and Protection (Dr Manisha Gogri, Divya Sriharan, Archana Reddy, Shilpi Malhotra) AC II: Promotion and Partnership (Dr Roshni Sodhi, Aparna V Agrawal, Pooja Marathe, Dr Surabhi Jain)
ALPI's Members Focus Group Launched, Feb 2022 ALPI launched Members Focus Group (MFG) for active ALPI Members, focusing on supporting ALPI's programs and projects. This is a 1 year term committment, chosen by ALPI's ET (Feb 2022-Jan 2023). MFG: Ayisha Chandni, Dr Surabhi Sangwai, Akansha Sharma, Dr Deepthi KJ, Dr Shivika Agrawal, Dr Vinodha Vunnam
CLIP Launches, Spring 2022 Dr Shacchee Baweja (ALPI's ET) began the "Clinical Lactation Internship Program" at her hospital in Delhi. Her first 2 batches included 4 ALPI Members, who completed BEI's CLP coursework.
Why Breastfeeding Matters Session, Apr 2022 Dana Hardy (ALPI's ET) gave a session to hospital leaders about why breastfeeding matters to the hospital, sharing about ALPI's growing work and impact.
BLS Training, May 2022 Dr Shacchee Baweja and 7 ALPI Members led a training for healthcare professionals in Delhi on "Basic Lactation Support."
WBW 2022 Launching, July 2022 ALPI Action Committee Members launched new tools for Lactation Professionals including customizable slide presentation for WBW week and InfoSheets
I-OLC 2022, Aug 2022 ALPI collaborated with BEI to launch another successful India's Online Lactation Conference (I-OLC 2022)
Total ALPI Members 2022 153 Members and counting...
2023
OLCP 4th Batch Nov 2022 - March 2023 ALPI and BEI in collaboration offered the 4th batch of the OLCP including Course A and Course B with several small groups of growing students
ALPI Allied Health Work Continutes - March 2023 Regular monthly ALPI updates sent to Ministry of Health via email
Lactation Retreat Dehradun - March 2023 11 Participants from all over India come to Dehradun for a weekend to learn and support one another through case discussion and lactation support topics.
On the Move Chennai - July 2023 Collaborative training session in Chennai with Dr. Sarvanakumar at his clinic to learn about oral challenges and breastfeeding support.
Launching WBW 2023 Aug 2023 ALPI launhes WBW 2023 celebrating the growth of lactation field in India and hearing stories from ALPI members impacting their communities through skilled lactation care.
I-OLC 2023, Aug 2023 ALPI collaborated with BEI and CFSI to launch another successful India's Online Lactation Conference (I-OLC 2023) Total Participants - 180
Launching I-OLC on the Move - Sep to Oct 2023 I-OLC goes offline with launching the I-OLC on the Move in differnet key locations, where ALPI Members and I-OLC participants meet in person and meet and support each other.
Annual ALPI Engagemnet Team Meeting - Dec 2023 ALPI conduts the Annual ALPI Engagement Team meeting to review the year and plan for the year 2024 and orientation for new ALPI Engagement Team for 2024 (Member Focus Group, Action Committees I and II and Advisory Team).
ALPI Year End Member Meetup - Dec 2023 ALPI Memeber meet to celebrate the year 2023. ALPI ET introduces the new members of ALPI Engagement Team and cast a vision for the year 2024
2024
Jan to June 2024: ALPI Member Meetup New Series ALPI Launches a new 6 part Meetup Series: Crucial Conversations in the Lactation Field.
March 2024: Professional Lactation Retreat - Mumbai Collaborative event with ALPI, BEI and CFSI to provide in-person 3 days training in Mumbai. Total Participants 34
May - July 2024: ALPI Mentorship Pilot Batch ALPI Launches the Pilot Mentorship Batch where participants in different location gather online to a small batches once a month for a mentorship training session for a period of 4 months. Total Participants: 60
July 2024: Launching WBW 2024 ALPI Members come together at the launch of another WBW as we reflect on the theme Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for ALL and discuss How is ALPI (and ALPI Members) 'Closing the Gap'
Aug 2024: I-OLC 2024 Registrations OPEN Another collaboration event with ALPI, BEI and CFSI. Registrations for the 5th season of I-OLC opens with great excitement. Introducing a new Research Module to encourage research in the field of Lactation in India.
Sep 2024: I-OLC Launching Session - Hyderabad First ever I-OLC hybrid launching session from Hyderabad. I-OLC Planning team travels to Hyderabad to lauch the 5th season of I-OLC in collaboration with The Sanctum Birth Centre. Exciting panel discussion with over 30 participants in person and over 100 participants online.
Lactation Professionals include Lactation Consultants (IBCLC), Certified Lactation Professionals, Lactation Counselors and other recognized certifications with both lactation coursework and clinical lactation experience.
