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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

NEW! NUEVO! La Importancia de Amamantar

Please spread the word! On April 28, 2009 Rocio Altamirano will lead our first meeting in Spanish, La Importancia de Amamantar (The Importance of Breastfeeding.)

Conversation with an IBCLC-certified Occupational Therapist

Vicki Brunstetter talked about her work as an IBCLC-certified Occupational Therapist with preemie babies and their families at University Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Some of her points were the following:

* It's important to help moms learn to hand express, but many don't want to touch their breasts.
* A major goal is to get babies colostrum.
* Finger feeding can cause some of the same problems as bottle feeding: hard surfaces, plastic smell, etc.
* Insurance dictates many options for pumps and length of NICU stays
* A major NICU goal is to get babies eating be it at breast or bottle.
* The U Hospital is VERY close (like maybe today or tomorrow) to being designated "Baby Friendly." This means no more free formula, no more formula-produced information sheets, and that moms have to sign forms to receive pacifiers that are locked up. They'll be the only hospital in Utah to be so designated.
* In Vicki's 16 years at this job, she's seen some major culture shifts favoring breastfeeding.
* Babies come to the U's NICU from Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and sometimes Arizona.
* The U Hospital has three nurseries: the 48-bed NICU, the Well Baby Nursery, and the "Step-up" nursery.
* The world needs more in-hospital lactation consultants.
* Moms can only stay with preemies in a chair next to their preemie in the NICU. There are a couple of beds in a separate room, but they tend to be reserved for moms getting ready to take their babies home.
* About 95% of the moms with preemies at U hospital deliver saying they're going to breastfeed, but they often have little or no information.
* Approximately half of the NICU preemies are delivered by WIC moms.

One thing this information teaches us is that getting breastfeeding support and information while pregnant is a MUST! Thank you to Vicki for coming and talking with us!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Upcoming Enrichment Meeting!

Come & join our conversation with Vicki Brunstetter, University Hospital NICU nurse! November 25th @ 10am

Thursday, November 13, 2008

What Surprised You?

Jessica led this month's series meeting, The Art of Breast Feeding and Avoiding Difficulties. We started off going around the room and sharing things that had surprised us most about having a new baby. The first answer was frequency of nursing. This led to a discussion about a newborn's stomach capacity. Many mothers were able to share their experiences. Topics ranged from co-sleeping, nursing positions, breast health, and even birth practices. Jessica shared a descriptive narrative about taking a laboring dog to a store, putting her on display for the birth, giving her medications during delivery, and then limiting the time new puppies had to nurse, before taking them away from mom, washing them up and keeping them in another room, likening this to our current system of delivery and post birth practices.



Thursday, November 6, 2008