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Brown County Public Health, NUMC OB collaborate on breastfeeding awarenessTo the nurses on the obstetrics unit at New Ulm Medical Center and at the Brown County Public Health Nursing office, collaboration between the two is nothing new. But, what started out as an increased effort to promote breastfeeding throughout the region has reaped additional benefits for both groups and the mothers and newborns they serve. The OB nurses and the Public Health Nurses recently formed a group that they now are calling the Brown County Breastfeeding Collaborative (BCBC). “We’ve always had a close relationship,” said Terri Helland, PHN. “But since forming this collaborative the lines of communication are more open. It’s about continuity of care – it’s the link between the short time the new moms have in the hospital and the opportunity we have for follow-up with them at home afterward. It starts in the hospital and really spreads out into the community with all the resources available to parents through Early Childhood Family Education, schools, the Follow-Along program, financial resources and the list goes on.” Registered nurse Jane Carlson agrees that the collaborative offers a great opportunity for delivering a consistent message and education to new moms not only about breastfeeding but a host of other educational resources. “We have patients here for such a short amount of time and we try to pack a lot of education into that time and then we have to send them home,” Carlson said. “Brown County is exceptional because they have been able to offer the services that allows them to visit all new parents and their babies who live in Brown County. The service is for all, regardless of circumstances or need.” The “Universal Contact Home Visiting” program has been a part of the Families First Collaborative, Helland explained, and it started approximately 11 years ago. “The idea is to provide the greatest good to the greatest number – we want to be able to reach everybody we can, not just those who call for help.” Although the link between the two organizations has been strengthened in more ways than one, their primary focus is to promote breastfeeding. “One of the initiatives we are working on is how we can approach businesses in Brown County and raise awareness on the benefits of breastfeeding for their new moms,” said Jennifer Brehmer, RN, manager of the OB nursing unit. “Minnesota is the only state that has a law that moms who are breastfeeding need time and a place to pump. There is good reason for that law,” Carlson said. A study published in the American Journal of Pediatric Health found that one-day absences from work occurred more than twice as often among formula-feeding mothers as they did among breastfeeding mothers. On its website, the American Academy of Pediatrics cites research that shows that breastfed infants have a greater immunity to infectious diseases. “Mothers are better rested, too, because babies who are breastfed have less colic and therefore sleep better at night,” Carlson said. “The nurses here do a wonderful job promoting public heath, explaining to patients that the benefits of public health are for everyone, not just the high risk patients,” Helland said. “For example, we have eight breast pumps that we are able to ‘loan’ out to new moms who would like to pump but haven’t the resources to buy their own pump. Those pumps are always in use and I know it’s because the nurses here do such a good job raising awareness and just paying attention to which moms might be in need of some of the resources we offer.” There are three Certified Lactation Counselors at the New Ulm Medical Center, including Carlson , Brehmer and Kitty Rolloff. Brown County Public Health also has three public health nurses who are Certified Lactation Counselors including Helland, Julie Carroll and Sharon Larson. Future goals for the BCBC are to start a Breastfeeding Support Group and to raise awareness about breastfeeding among the Hispanic population. |
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New Ulm Medical Center
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