Since the first birth, children have been consuming their mother’s milk. Yet it seems that the modern world needs reminding about the ancient, nourishing practice.
Marian Medical Center recently received the International Board Certified Lactation Consultants Care Award, a recognition that’s only been given to 16 hospitals in California. The award was bestowed because of Marian’s promotion, protection, and support of breastfeeding along with excellence in staffing consultants in their Maternal and Newborn Team.
Marian Medical Center has achieved a 62 percent rate of exclusive breastfeeding. The amount of mothers who
are exclusively formula feeding is down to
5.3 percent.
“Breast milk is the natural nutrition babies need for optimum growth and decreases a baby’s chance of developing obesity, diabetes, or certain cancers,” Janet Davila, RN, perinatal outpatient education coordinator and lactation consultant at Marian Medical Center, explained in a press release.
She acknowledged that there are cases in which a child may require formula, but stated, “the benefits of breast milk far surpass the nutrition quality of artificial formula.”
The push for breastfeeding comes as a result of studies showing its many benefits. Aside from the nutritional value, breast milk supplies babies with antibodies. These children, as studies have shown, are less likely to develop childhood cancers and diabetes. The practice also helps with less drastic diseases, including ear infections and the development of respiratory illnesses and food allergies.
But it’s not just about the health of the baby. Marian is also stressing the health benefits to the mother. Women who breastfeed have a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, return to pre-pregnancy weight more quickly than mothers who don’t breastfeed, and enjoy reduced risk of postpartum depression.
“The recent IBCLC Care Award recognition is a true testament of the strong commitment Marian Medical Center has made to provide breastfeeding education and support services to our community,” Marilyn Propst, RN, director of the Maternal and Newborn Center at Marian Medical Center, said in the press release.
Marian Medical Center’s support of breastfeeding goes beyond a mother’s hospital stay. For expecting mothers, the hospital offers breastfeeding classes that cover nutrition information and options for mothers who want to breastfeed and will be returning to work. Private consultations, a breastfeeding support group that meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m., and a breast pump loaner program are all resources available to mothers after they leave the hospital.
Intern Michael McCone compiled this week’s Community Corner. Send comments or ideas to the Sun via e-mail at intern@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 15-22, 2011.