Mama knows breast: August brings breastfeeding awareness

At William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, the Women’s Resource Center is helping new mothers with education and support as they begin their breastfeeding journey.     

UT Southwestern’s team of lactation consultants provides daily coverage for the women’s services units and is very active in local and statewide education forums to guide other medical professionals. At Clements University Hospital, nurses are required to have at least 15 hours of breastfeeding education and make rounds with a lactation nurse for four to six hours. The lactation nurses, staffed through the Women’s Resource Center, make patient rounds, review teaching, assist with positioning and latching, provide discharge instructions on when to seek breastfeeding assistance, and offer outpatient lactation consultations as needed.

“We do a much better job of supporting, promoting, and protecting breastfeeding than we did 25 years ago,” said Kelli Hulsman, RN, lactation consultant at the Women’s Resource Center. “Twenty-five years ago, we had one lactation consultant who worked for several hours and days a week.”

Ms. Hulsman also has noticed an increase in the number of women who supply breast milk to their babies. Despite national strides in lactation support, racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding remain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the U.S. 64.3 percent of black babies were breastfed between 2010 and 2013, compared with 81.5 percent of white babies. Two significant barriers are financial factors and lack of education about nursing.

“We have partnered with Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Dallas Lactation Care Center (LCC) to support women,” Ms. Hulsman said. “The LCC provides breastfeeding support groups, hands-on assistance with breastfeeding, and can help women get pumps even if they are not on WIC. They are a fabulous group to work with and they support our breastfeeding families tremendously.”

WIC has peer counselors who come to Clements University Hospital twice a week to visit with moms and answer any questions they may have about breastfeeding or the services that are available. Any Texas mother can go to the Dallas LCC for assistance.

Since 2012, UTSW has been a designated a Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite. It also is part of the Texas Ten Step Program, which was developed by the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Hospital Association to improve maternity care practices in birthing facilities through methods proven to increase breastfeeding exclusivity and duration, and reduce racial and ethnic disparities. Key initiatives are policy development, staff education, and the provision of discharge resources for breastfeeding mothers.

As advocacy groups work toward closing the disparity gap, Ms. Hulsman delights in the comfort lactation consultants can provide to all mothers who wish to breastfeed.

“It’s a natural progression from carrying your baby during your pregnancy, but it is not all-instinctive, and the nurses and lactation consultants are there to help you learn,” she said. “I feel blessed every day that I get to share this experience with these families. It is a spiritual experience that defies an adequate explanation.”

WIC and the LCC are offering a screening of “Chocolate Milk: The Documentary Series” on Wednesday, Aug. 28, at the Dallas LCC. This film follows the stories of three African-American women on their breastfeeding journeys. RSVP to karenstanzo@yahoo.com by Aug. 23.