TGMC encouraging breastfeeding

The simplicity and ease of bottle-feeding a newborn baby is undeniable. A majority of women are keen to the idea, especially in Louisiana, where the number of breastfeeding mothers is less than 50 percent. Officials fear the path more frequently traveled has become a staple of modern society, outweighing the health benefits breast milk can provide.

Terrebonne General Medical Center has decided to combat the problem by implementing a program aimed at assisting new mothers with breastfeeding, a task that can feel too cumbersome at times. The initiative helps parents during their stay at the hospital and after discharge. In the preliminary stages, women are also exposed to the idea of breastfeeding as a primary feeding technique.

In recognition of those efforts, the facility was handed the Guided Infant Feeding Technique, or GIFT certification last Wednesday. The award – and requirements to receive it – are based on the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, which is a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and the United Nation’s Children Fund.

Intertwined in the near laundry list of requirements a hospital must meet to receive the designation are 10 steps resulting in a healthy breastfed baby.

However, for officials, the benefits outshine the time and effort needed to install the program, which has been shown to help prevent infant mortality, according to officials. Breast milk also has antibodies, which protect infants from germs, illness and in some cases, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Deciding to breastfeed can also save money, produce less garbage and prove to be more eco-friendly, touted officials. Its positive effects have even reached mothers, who could experience a reduced risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and post-partum depression.

Among the benefits, TGMC stands as the first and only GIFT certified facility in the region and fifteenth in the state.

While the award recognizes the hospital for its hard work, it also goes after a problem that has existed for years.

“I think we’ve lost several generations of women who have breastfed their babies. It’s also a learned skill; we learn by watching other women and seeing breastfeeding portrayed on TV positively, and that just doesn’t happen now,” said GIFT Statewide Coordinator Marci Brewer.

Instead, the market is flooded with formula companies aiming to make a quick buck on new mothers, who for the most part tend to make uninformed decisions about feeding.

The promotions, sales and commercials: “…it’s unethical,” she said.

For many, the solution will only come with time. And because of the extensive history of bottle-feeding, breastfeeding has continued to take the backseat for most new moms.

“Now it’s like, we were talking about drinking bottled water, you have to reach a tipping point before everyone wants to drink bottled water,” explained Mary Craig, director of perinatal services for the Louisiana Office of Public Health.

For her and many others, the same holds true for breastfeeding.

“We need to set breastfeeding as the norm, not bottle feeding as the norm,” said Julia Bourg, a lactation consultant at TGMC.

Part of Bourg’s duties requires her to talk with patients about the benefits of breastfeeding. And although many moms hit roadblocks along the way, it can be very advantageous in the end, she noted.

“There’s very little in our society and in our communities that support breastfeeding women,” added Brewer. “It’s a great thing, but it’s often very difficult to do. It’s just how our society is.”

But things are looking up at TGMC, as the number of breastfeeding mothers has steadily increased over the past few months. The hospital delivers between 100 and 160 babies a month and of that, a little more than 40 percent typically breastfeed, said officials.

Those inside the facility hope to see those numbers rise with the new certification.

“This designation demonstrates Terrebonne General Medical Center’s commitment to offer the best practice initiatives to the women in our community and the most successful beginning to their newborns,” said TGMC President and CEO Phyllis Peoples. “I commend our women’s center staff for achieving this rigorous certification and for their drive and desire to provide our patients with the most progressive, compassionate care.”