GOLD Speakers

Mariana Colmenares Castaño, MD, IBCLC

• Country: Mexico

Biography:

Mariana Colmenares Castaño was born in Mexico City, and from an early age she was fascinated by animals and nature. She studied medicine at the National University of Mexico (UNAM), and found her passion as a pediatrician doing her residency at the National Pediatric Institute. With the birth of her first child, Mariana witnessed the lack of knowledge and commitment with breastfeeding and nutrition within the medical profession. This was her impetus to specialize in breastfeeding medicine. Certified as a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2011 by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE), she is currently a member of the International Lactation Consultant Association, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and a proud founding member of the National Lactation Consultant Association of Mexico (ACCLAM), where she served on the Board of Directors as Education Coordinator (2014-2019). Regional coordinator for the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine for the Región of LATAM (2018 to date) and an in coming board member 2019-2022. As part of her continuing professional training she studied at the International Breastfeeding Clinic, in Toronto CA.

Mariana is a member of the team for Breastfeeding Country Index BFCI, a project from Yale University and Universidad Iberoamericana whose goal is to develop an evidence base metric that can help decision-makers to understand the current status to elevate breastfeeding programs and increase breastfeeding rates. A frequent speaker at national and international conferences (plenary speaker at ILCA 2018), she has published numerous articles and co-authored a chapter for the National Academy of Medicine. To contribute to a medical profession better prepared to support breastfeeding, she teaches medical students at the National University of México and serves as a consultant for the National Health Institute and UNICEF.