This week is World Breastfeeding Week. The Family Birth Center at St. Mary’s Hospital is letting the community know the changes the facility is taking in its efforts to care for newborns and their mothers. St. Mary’s is implementing 10 steps to successful breastfeeding, including, initiating skin-to-skin contact, providing lactation consultants, and support after patients are discharged. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2016 Breastfeeding Report Card, only 69% of Georgia babies are breastfed at least once. The national average is 81%. The hospital hosts its Bundles of Joy group weekly for first time moms the learn ways to maintain the breastfeeding relationship. Toddle Time is a similar group for mothers of toddlers and newborns.
As part of its effort to continually improve care for moms, babies and families, St. Mary's is working with the Georgia 5-Star Hospital program. Here are key steps St. Mary's takes to promote breastfeeding and support breastfeeding mothers:
· Sacred Hour: At St. Mary's, healthy newborns are immediately placed in skin-to-skin contact for at least an hour regardless of their feeding method. We call this crucial period the "Sacred Hour." Studies show the Sacred Hour soothes both mother and baby, lowers blood pressure, stabilizes the baby's temperature and vital signs, and helps the mother's milk come in to promote a calm and loving transition to breastfeeding. St. Mary's starts the Sacred Hour with caesarean section patients as well once they are stable during the recovery period.
· Breastfeeding education: St. Mary's Family Birth Center's trained nurses and internationally certified lactation consultants educate mothers about breastfeeding and provide one-on-one emotional support while in the hospital. They also implement evidence-based practices that are shown to be the best for breastfeeding families.
· Cue-based feeding: The early signs that babies are hungry can be subtle. But if the cues are overlooked, babies become irritable and may have a hard time feeding. The Family Birth Center encourages rooming-in with guidance from staff to teach the family to recognize the early cues of hunger so that everyone can rest easier.
· Lactation consultants: St. Mary's three International Board Certified Lactation Consultants – Jenkins, Crowe and King – bring state-of-the-art knowledge, compassion, and expertise to assist moms with all aspects of breastfeeding, including latching-on, pumping and storage, and problem-solving.
· Classes: Before delivery, St. Mary's helps families prepare for their new baby, including breastfeeding, with several classes.
o Baby Nutrition. An introduction to breastfeeding basics that covers getting started, preventing problems, maintaining breastfeeding when mom returns to work or school, and the role other family members can play. Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. $25 per couple.
o Childbirth Education. Two-day class on consecutive Sundays that covers all aspects of preparing for delivery. In addition to helping parents be active participants in their baby's birth, the class touches on the Sacred Hour and establishing the breastfeeding relationship. $60 per couple.
o Baby Basics. Provides information on the general characteristics of a newborn, specifics of baby care, making the transition from hospital to home, and more. $15 per couple.
· Support groups: St. Mary's offers two community support groups where breastfeeding moms can receive professional guidance, weigh their babies before and after
breastfeeding, develop friendships, and exchange information with their peers. Both groups meet at St. Mary's Hospital and are free.
o Bundles of Joy, designed especially for first-time moms. Mondays, 1 p.m.
o Toddle Time, designed for moms who have toddlers, too. Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.
· One-on-one support: After discharge, moms who delivered at St. Mary's can consult with St. Mary's lactation consultants at no charge. Consultations over the phone can help with resolving an immediate problem. In-person consultations can address issues to help maintain the breastfeeding relationship.
