C. Melissa Morelli-Walsh is a Clinical Instructor in Nursing. She received a B.S from Cornell University, BSN from the University of Pennsylvania, MA from NYU Meyers and is currently a PhD candidate at NYU Meyers. She is a nurse, midwife and lactation consultant at NYU Langone Medical Center.
Along with her midwifery colleague Dr. Susan Altman, Ms. Morelli-Walsh received a 2017 NYU Curriculum Challenge Development Grant that supported the development of a graduate course in Breastfeeding and Human Lactation at NYU Meyers. Nursing, midwifery and nurse practitioner students are able to obtain both classroom and clinical experience in the care of breastfeeding families. NYU Langone medical center's hospital postpartum unit and outpatient perinatal education center provide students with learning opportunities in the care of babies and human milk usage.
Ms. Morelli-Walsh's research focuses on breastfeeding and neonatal abstinence syndrome. Pregnant women with an opioid use disorder that are using medication-assisted therapy (i.e. methadone) to treat their addiction may safely breastfeed their babies. Breastmilk provides numerous health benefits for babies born to mothers with an opioid use disorder. Additionally, mothers who choose to provide human milk for their babies also receive both health and psychological benefits that may contribute to long-term recovery from addiction. Breastfeeding's role as a recovery tool for mothers with an opioid use disorder is Ms. Morelli-Walsh's dissertation topic.
