Posted: 7/29/2019
Free public event during World Breastfeeding Week focuses on health benefits
Rosa Almanza, 34, gave birth via caesarean section to a healthy 9 pound, 8 ounce baby girl at Parkland Memorial Hospital on July 22. She and her husband, José Garcia, have 5 sons and were excited to welcome daughter Melissa to their family. Although Almanza successfully breastfed each of her sons, she was concerned about her milk supply and asked for a Parkland lactation consultant to visit her shortly after Melissa was born.
“I let Rosa know that it may take a little longer for a mother’s milk to come in following a C-section,” Adriana Ramirez, RN, Lactation Consultant, explained. “And just a few hours after she was born, Melissa was nursing well.”
Breastfeeding is recognized by health experts as the best source of nutrition for most infants. World Breastfeeding Week is observed every year Aug. 1-7 to encourage breastfeeding and improve health of babies around the world.
To help educate families about the benefits of breastfeeding, Parkland will host a free Breastfeeding Fair on Tuesday, Aug. 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the private dining room at Parkland Memorial Hospital, 5200 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, 75235. The event is free and open to the public. Among the groups participating in the Parkland fair will be Mother’s Milk Bank of Texas, the Family Place, Dallas County Health Department and several departments from Parkland’s division of Women & Infants’ Specialty Health.
“Choosing to breastfeed requires commitment and lots of practice. We are dedicated to supporting new moms through education, assistance and encouragement to reach their breastfeeding goals. All women and infant services nursing staff and physicians have received education to support breastfeeding moms,” said Valencia Moore, RN, IBCLC, and Lactation Consultant Supervisor at Parkland. “We want our families to know that breastfeeding provides health benefits not only for baby, but for moms as well.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees. Human milk provides virtually all the protein, sugar and fat babies need to be healthy and provides substances that protect them against a wide variety of diseases and infections. The benefits can be seen not only while breastfeeding, but in some cases, long after being weaned. Formula cannot offer this protection.
“Most importantly, breastfeeding reduces maternal and child mortality,” Moore added. According to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), in low and medium-income countries, babies who were breastfed had 21 percent lower risk of death in their first year, compared with babies who were never breastfed.
For breastfeeding mothers, the benefits are beyond emotional satisfaction. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, mothers who breastfeed recover from childbirth more quickly and easily, experience reduced rates of breast and ovarian cancer later in life and have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
“Another added benefit for mothers is weight loss,” Moore said. “Moms can burn anywhere from 500 to 700 calories daily from breastfeeding alone. We want to encourage families to come to our fair and learn as much as they can about the value of breastfeeding.”
International Board Certified Lactation Consultants are available 24/7 for mothers of newborns at Parkland, a Texas Ten Step (TTS) designated hospital. The Texas Ten Step program provides resources and a framework to help birthing facilities improve health outcomes for lactating women and their infants. Parkland recently underwent a rigorous Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative survey and is awaiting the results. The designation recognizes hospitals implementing policies aligned with the World Health Organization and UNICEF’s Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
Almanza received her prenatal care at Parkland’s Garland Health Center, where breastfeeding education is a standard part of prenatal visits. As she contentedly nursed baby Melissa the day after giving birth at Parkland she said, “I always tell friends and family to breastfeed because it helps babies grow stronger and healthier.”
For more information, please visit www.parklandhospital.com.