St. Mary’s hospital in Jefferson City was designated Friday as a Missouri “Show-Me 5” hospital for its breastfeeding-friendly practices. To become a breast feeding friendly child care facility the hospital had meet 5 key criteria set by the Missouri department of health.
That includes helping mothers initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, allowing infants to stay in the same room as their mothers, only feeding infants breastmilk, not allowing pacifiers, and establishing support groups for mothers. Registered Nurse Jamie Gilliland says next the hospital strives next to achieve all ten steps in the baby-friendly hospital initiative.
“I see us going into the rest of those steps and making St. Mary’s a baby friendly hospital,” Gilliland said. “I think it already is but we just need to find out where, if any, there are issues we need to work on are and just get those hardwired because it is so import, and we want that designation so breast feeding moms know they will get the best care here.”
Next St. Mary’s will need a written policy that reflects support of breastfeeding, train all staff on the policy, inform mothers of the benefits and management of breastfeeding, encourage feeding on demand, and show mothers how to breastfeed.
Gilliland says after working with the initiatives for the past two years, the hardest issue has been the so called “rooming in.” Rooming in allows infants to stay in the same room as their mothers instead of being taken to a nursery one hour after birth.
“We try to help moms understand that just because the baby is in the room with them does not mean that they won’t get good rest,” Gilliland said. “We want to encourage moms to learn how to recognize their baby’s signs of readiness for feeding and need mom. Most moms actually rest better when their babies are in the rooms with them.”
Childbirth Education Coordinator Becky Schwaller says the positive change has been two years in the making.
“It’s definitely a great decision parents can make for their baby,” Schwaller said. “It helps them get started with a healthier life. There are many health benefits for baby and for mom. It’s also very cost effective. We could really impact the national deficit if every woman breastfed.”
Schwaller says babies allowed to stay with their mom after birth cry less, bond quicker with families and have a better transition to new life.
“I see how these measures can help other moms get off to the best start even if they don’t know what to ask for we know what to suggest now. We’ve seen it work time after time,” Gilliland said.
Nine hospitals in Missouri have earned this award.