Emma Cotter, BSN, RN-BC, and her daughter Ruby join in the festivities.
August was National Breastfeeding Awareness Month in the United States, and World Breastfeeding Week was also celebrated internationally from August 1–7. Public health experts recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed for at least the first six months, then for another year either exclusively or as a supplement, and these campaigns highlight the benefits for both mothers and children and aim to empower women to feel comfortable with both the joys and very normal challenges of breastfeeding.
PAH’s Solutions for Women is dedicated to helping breastfeeding moms meet their goals and decided to kick off August with Grand Rounds led by Sagori Mukhopadhyay, MD, MMSc, an assistant professor of Pediatrics, who gave a talk focused on breast milk, hypoglycemia, and the “well baby microbiome” for an audience of physicians, nurses, lactation consultants, and doulas.
Barbara Parda sat down with ICN nurse Joanne DeLuca, RN, to learn how to perform infant CPR.
Free family – and baby – friendly activities were also held for members of the community. The theme of this year’s celebration was “Breastfeeding: A Foundation for Life,” as indicated by the extra-large building blocks available to play with. There was storytime for preschoolers, a parent and baby barre class led by ICN nurse Kristin Azuma, RN, an infant CPR lesson led by ICN nurse Joanne DeLuca, RN, and more. Gift baskets were also raffled off, and over $1,000 was raised to provide outpatient lactation services to low-income families. All of this served as a great launch pad for the week and awareness month ahead.
“Breastfeeding provides the physical, nutritional, and psychological foundation for optimal wellness for children and mothers,” said Debi Page Ferrarello, MSN, MS, RN, IBCLC, NE-BC, director of Parent Education and Lactation. “We’re proud to provide seamless support through prenatal education, in-hospital lactation support, outpatient consultation with IBCLCs, and links to our own support group and groups throughout the region. It takes a supportive community to help families meet their feeding goals.”