14 states don’t even have one?!
Posted September 19th, 2012 by Ashley BoydHere’s a story that gets us in the heart: When MomsRising member Cristi of Bothell, Washington gave birth to her first child, she planned to breastfeed. But when her son’s blood sugar level dipped shortly after birth, the hospital directed her to feed him formula. Unfortunately, the hospital’s nurses and doctors didn’t give Cristi any information about ways she could keep her son healthy and get back to exclusive breastfeeding as she hoped to do.
As a result, after only using a bottle for several days, her son would scream and cry every time Cristi tried to breastfeed and they never did get back on track. Determined to give him breast milk, Cristi committed to the challenge of pumping breast milk for bottles for the next year.
Resolved to have a different experience when she had her daughter, Cristi talked to moms she trusted and found a hospital nearby that had a great reputation for supporting breastfeeding because it was “Baby-Friendly”. (Learn more about what a “Baby Friendly” hospital is below and why it matters to everyone!)
Unfortunately, most women don’t have this option. Right now, only 36 states have at least one Baby-Friendly facility and many only have one. As a result, only about 6% of babies are born in Baby-Friendly facilities today.
Thankfully, change is underway and we can help speed it up! Kaiser Permanente, one of the country’s largest health care providers and not-for-profit health plans, recently announced that by 2013 all of their maternity hospitals will be designated as Baby-Friendly or follow procedures outlined by The Joint Commission Perinatal Care Core Measures program to better support mothers to exclusively breastfeed. That’s great news and together, we can get other hospitals to do the same!
Join us in publicly saying, “Thank you!” to Kaiser Permanente for taking this important step to support moms who want to breastfeed. Sign on to our “Thank you”card now.
By publicly thanking hospitals that become Baby-Friendly certified, we will encourage other hospitals to follow their lead. Kaiser Permanente is one of the biggest “big fish” in the health care world so recognizing and appreciating their commitment will get noticed. Kaiser’s commitment is a critical step towards giving mothers and babies excellent breastfeeding support and paving the way for other hospitals to do the same.
What is a “Baby Friendly” hospital, anyway?
While many hospitals offer many “baby friendly” practices and are very supportive of breastfeeding – the Baby-Friendly designation ensures that the facility has policies in place that direct staff to work together to listen to moms and actively support moms to be able to breastfeed. This process ensures that a facilitity’s commitment to breastfeeding doesn’t depend on one nurse or doctor’s support – but it’s a system-wide commitment that will endure and that new mothers can count on.
Reflecting on her experience at her local Baby-Friendly hospital, Cristi shares, “The support was amazing. The lactation consultant I saw after delivery was patient, calm and helpful… they helped me get my daughter latching properly. I’m very proud that I stood up for myself, switched hospitals when I knew what I needed.”
Why is this important for all of us – even if our baby days are over?
Kaiser Permanente created its Baby-Friendly commitment in partnership with the Partnership for a Healthier America, an organization dedicated to working with the private sector to ensure the health of our nation’s youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis. Research shows that breastfeeding for 9 months reduces a baby’s odds of becoming overweight by more than 30%. At a time when 1 in 5 preschoolers are overweight, this link shows why breastfeeding is a critical component to prevent youth obesity.
Together we can encourage other hospitals to become Baby Friendly too!
Click here to add your name to our “Thank You” card that we’ll deliver to Kaiser Permanente leaders in appreciation of their commitment to giving moms the support they deserve and need to be able to breastfeed.
By signing, you will help create a positive momentum for more Baby Friendly hospitals throughout the country so mothers like Cristi will have many options when delivering their babies!
To learn more about breastfeeding and improved health for both mother and baby, check out the MomsRising Radio segment on iTunes!
- Fired up? Join MomsRising today!
5 Comments
October 2, 2012 at 9:40 am by Conflicts SoftwareI agree with most statements made here. The ability to understand 14 states don’t even have one?! in this market will show your strength in the future. Two things I like about the post, one it is straight forward and two it does not attempt to promote anyone’s position particularly. Thank you for the info Ashley.
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September 19, 2012 at 5:09 pm by Kelly“What is a “Baby Friendly” hospital, anyway?
While many hospitals offer many “baby friendly” practices and are very supportive of breastfeeding – the Baby-Friendly designation ensures that the facility has policies in place that direct staff to work together to listen to moms and actively support moms to be able to breastfeed. This process ensures that a facilitity’s commitment to breastfeeding doesn’t depend on one nurse or doctor’s support – but it’s a system-wide commitment that will endure and that new mothers can count on.”
Hmmm. I gave birth in a Baby-Friendly hospital and in my quest to breastfeed had the support of all kinds of medical professionals, including NICU pediatricians and nurses, four different lactation consultants, and an occupational therapist, and I think Laurie has a point. I don’t really want to turn this comments section into a breastfeeding vs. formula feeding battleground, but I do feel a need to speak the truth of my experience.
The message I was getting from all the helpful, Baby-Friendly breastfeeding advocates– through the jungle of sleep-deprivation, mastitis fevers, nipple-shield juggling, breast-pump whirring (six to eight times a day and night on top of bottle feeding on top of attempts at breastfeeding), reflux screaming from my 3rd-percentile-for-weight preemie, and ultimately, postpartum depression–was that if you were an educated person and KNEW all the benefits of breastfeeding, then there was no legitimate reason for not doing it.
I would prefer to see a Baby-and-Mommy-Friendly Hospital, in which rather than “a system” that has the single goal of breastfeeding in mind, medical professionals (including mental health professionals) and mothers would work together to evaluate what the best choices for individual families might be. For some, that might mean breastfeeding. For others it might mean pumping and bottle feeding. For others, that might mean formula feeding. It’s unfair to new mothers to pretend that their decision about whether to breastfeed or not a) happens in a bubble, without any complicating factors like physical problems, mental health issues, other childcare commitments, professional commitments, etc.; and b) is a no-brainer as long as women are educated about the benefits.
The pressure to breastfeed is enormous; it’s basically become the earliest and most polarizing cultural signifier of whether or not you’re a good mother. (“If you’re so selfish that you won’t breastfeed your baby, even though you know it’s the best thing for him, maybe you shouldn’t have had a baby in the first place,” scolds every comments section of every breastfeeding article on the entire internet.) Couple that pressure with postpartum depression and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. As I said, I gave birth in a Baby-Friendly hospital, and my experiences with breastfeeding, exclusive pumping, and finally switching to formula were easily the darkest and most guilt-ridden months of my life. If one medical professional had said to me, “Hey, if all this breastfeeding stuff is draining every bit of joy out of having a new baby, it’s really OK to give your baby formula. The most important thing is that your son have a mommy who enjoys being a mother,” it would have made a world of difference. I HATE that I wasted the first six months of my son’s life consumed with anxiety about breastfeeding, and that he spent so much time strapped into his bouncy seat while I was strapped to my breast pump, thinking, “What have I done to my life?” instead of, “My baby is so cute and I just love him!!” I can never get that time back.
I also think it’s worthwhile to point out to women struggling with the decision to use formula that statistics about the benefits of breastfeeding do not mean your baby is doomed to bad outcomes: my formula-fed baby is now a two-year-old who is absolutely not overweight (10th percentile); he is not especially sickly (he has had zero bouts of gastrointestinal illness-related diarrhea, and has had one fever (101 degrees) in his life); he has no allergies that we know of so far; he has had no ear infections so far; and we’re perfectly pleased with his intellectual development.
I may sign the petition, because I do think that lactation consultants ought to be available to every new mother, but I really, really, really wish the conversation about breastfeeding would acknowledge that breastfeeding is part of a larger, more complicated mother-baby-family dynamic that is worth serious and compassionate consideration.
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Anon Reply:
September 20th, 2012 at 12:28 am
@Kelly, Right on! I couldn’t agree more. We need more hospitals/doctors/health care providers who are looking at the Mother-Baby unit. And mental health struggles need to be factored into the final decision about breastfeeding as well- here’s my favorite article on that very thing: http://www.postpartumstress.com/pages/breast_best.html .
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Laurie, “Baby-Friendly” does not mean that the hospital is hostile to formula feeders, or even that they won’t provide formula to moms who choose to use it.
Being “Baby-friendly” means that hospitals will prioritize the health of the baby and the mom, and the best mutual feeding partnership for both of them (whether that’s breast, bottle, or some combination of both), rather than the formula corporations.
The free samples, gifts, and coupons given out at hospitals and sent to new parents through the mail (through exclusive deals worked out through the local hospital) are provided by the FORMULA company that has the formula contract for that hospital, and are all intended to ensure that the first formula in the house when a desperate breastfeeding parent turns to formula for the first time is THEIR brand. Preferably, their most expensive, pre-mixed liquid version, so the kiddo rejects the powdered version afterwards.
Studies have shown that formula companies make most of their money off of BREAST-feeding families, who are more likely to continue with formula to 12 months, once they start to supplement breast milk or quit breastfeeding altogether. Parents who start out with formula are more likely to switch to cow’s milk, and spend less money in the long run. Everything that looks like hospitals just helping parents make their own free choice is really just corporations fighting to get in first and establish brand loyalty. (The two major brands really do taste quite different, despite being virtually identical nutritionally, so babies generally won’t switch brands willingly.)
It’s not about judging bottle-feeding parents, it’s about hospitals choosing the health and best interests of patients over corporations.
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September 19, 2012 at 3:33 pm by LaurieI do want to make one comment…for those that either must or choose to bottle feed with formula, people and hospitals in general have become increasingly hostile. Why does “Baby-Friendly” suddenly mean that you have to be mean or hostile to the formula feeder or push lactation consultants on us/make people feel bad for formula feeding, etc. Why do we keep fighting this “war” over breastfeeding. Either you choose to or not. Why push one or the other on someone. So no, I am not signing your petition this time.
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