Breastfeeding Part 2: What Are We Doing?

Click here to view Part 1 of this post.

Have you ever seen a breastfeeding poster? Typically it depicts a mom, adorned in a pastel robe, with baby on breast. The mom and baby are typically looking at each other and the artistic concept feels dated and awkward. It brings me back to the 1970's "Our Bodies, Ourselves" book that my mom made me read when I was coming of age. It's too much. It sneaks up on you in a hallway, a bathroom or even the library. Just when you weren't thinking about breastfeeding, POW, there it is.

These randomly placed posters don't shift social norms for breastfeeding or offer new moms any real form of support.
So what will? Reaching moms where they are when they need the info. Then promoting the science to the rest of us.

How are we doing that?
We are supporting moms during their hospital stay, at work and at home. Moms need help right away when they are trying to make a decision to breastfeed or when they are having a rough day with their infant. They need encouragement. Ya!  Well, this is one of the major initiatives that my Healthier Communities team is working on at Alegent Health in a partnership with Douglas County Health Department, VNA, Tom Tonniges, M.D. and UNMC College of Nursing. We received a grant from one of our Alegent Health sponsors Catholic Health Initiatives to educate and support moms and train more providers to counsel patients on this health opportunity.

Strategy #1
Promote breastfeeding in the workplace: This is an important one considering that without support most working moms have difficulty juggle breastfeeding and their career simultaneously.

• Our coalition is;
• Supporting small businesses in getting breast pumps and educating working moms
• We are currently surveying moms at production and manufacturing companies to find out more about how we can help
• We are helping workplaces deal with the changes outlined in the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act (which added a new provision to the Fair Labor Standards Act) requiring that businesses with more than 50 employees to  provide a lactation room with a door that closes in a space other than a restroom. (Yae!)

Strategy #2
Enhance breastfeeding friendly maternity practices in hospitals.

• Our coalition has;
• Hosted hospital leadership round table with nearly all the health systems from the Omaha metro area to discuss potential policies that could help hospitals be more baby friendly.
• Some of these policies include:
• Allowing the mom to hold the baby right away and breastfeed within the first hour of birth
• Keeping the baby in the room with mom rather than putting them in the nursery
• Not sending free formula samples home with mom because it makes it too easy to reach for the stuff on tough days
• Giving moms the information about breastfeeding and it's health benefits before delivery in childbirth education classes.

Strategy #3
Provide professional breastfeeding education support and training to primary care physicians and their staff.

• Our coalition;
• Educated more than 300 physicians and medical providers in the community on the value of baby friendly hospital procedures in the neurological development of a baby's brain through a global skin-to-skin expert , speaker Dr. Nils Bergman.
• Provide Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) training for community health workers and providers. Last Aug., 23 were trained to help moms in their own clinics and hospitals. In January 2012, another 75 will be trained to help moms.
• Partnering with OBGYN and Family Practice physicians to help them feel informed to speak on the topic and begin to see breastfeeding as more than a feeding choice but a powerful preventive medicine...oh ya, that's free.

Strategy #4
Facilitate peer support and education among moms and infants enrolled in WIC (Women, Infants and Children) participants especially women of color who statistically are less likely to breastfeed at all or will stop after a very short time.

• Our coalition;
• Funds peer counselors for the Douglas County WIC offices so that peer moms can support one another through breastfeeding
• Support groups and prenatal counseling are also important parts of the WIC outreach provided for moms and infants

Strategy #4
Target moms with a social marketing campaign that promotes the importance of breastfeeding and normalizing breastfeeding for all families.

• Our coalition;
• Is now conducting a breastfeeding survey among new and expectant moms to find out what messages will promote the practice, raise their comfort level and give them the necessary support.
• Once this research is complete, a social marketing campaign will be created for moms targeted at their time of decision making and difficult times they may encounter during breastfeeding.

So this is a lot of information, but it's intended to show you how this Healthier Communities team at Alegent Health and our many community partners are making an impact on a health issue that can help promote the health of mom, baby and reduce future health care costs.

Click here for Part 1 of this blog.