Learning & Growing at the NEC Symposium

Wednesday, 4/12/2017

Necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, is a severe disease affecting premature infants which causes parts of the intestine to die. A NEC diagnosis is devastating, and can often turn fatal. Jennifer Canvasser is all too familiar with the disease. Her son Micah lost his battle with NEC when he was just 11 months old. After her loss, Jennifer saw a need for a group dedicated to fighting this disease and protecting the babies at risk. In order to promote research, advocacy and support for those affected by NEC, she founded the NEC Society.

The NEC Society is always looking for new ways to support its community, and this year brought a new opportunity. It hosted its first ever NEC Symposium last week at the University of California at Davis. During this conference, medical professionals discussed the current pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of NEC; created a forum for collaboration; discussed empowerment of NEC-affected families and much more. Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas Medical Director, Erin Hamilton Spence, represented MMBNT at the symposium.

“The NEC Society’s first symposium was unlike any conference I’ve been to,” Dr. Hamilton Spence said. “It focused on families and their experience, while teaching doctors, lactation consultants and families the areas of hope for wiping out this disease. I learned a great deal, and will definitely be going back.”

It’s important to be at the forefront of issues that affect the population served by milk banking. The NEC Symposium was a great opportunity to network with the top minds in this field, and we were grateful for the chance to connect with these colleagues for such an important issue.

For more information about Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas, click here.