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NewsNews

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 05, 2014 

Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center Earns Recognition for Excellence in Breastfeeding and Lactation Care

Improving maternal and child health in the Bronx by making breastfeeding a priority for 93 percent of new mothers

Lincoln Breastfeeding Award
Breastfeeding Coordinator Ilana Taubman, RN, at Lincoln assists new mom and baby.

Bronx, NY ― Lincoln Medical Center, part of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), has received the prestigious International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® (IBCLC®) Care Award for its dedication to breastfeeding and for excellence in lactation care. In 2013, 93 percent of women who had babies at Lincoln were breastfeeding their children by the time they left the hospital. This rate exceeds the Healthy People 2010 (75 percent) and 2020 (82 percent) goals set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“This prestigious award reaffirms Lincoln’s ongoing commitment to improve maternal and child health in the Bronx,” said Milton Nuñez, Executive Director, Lincoln Medical Center. “I commend the staff for collectively working toward this certification and for their efforts to make breastfeeding a priority in our hospital by implementing a high standard for patient care and education.”

“Studies show breastfeeding provides many health benefits to both mother and baby. Breastfed newborns are at lower risk of ear and respiratory infections, diabetes, obesity and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. For mothers, breastfeeding lowers their risk of breast and ovarian cancers, diabetes, and postpartum depression,” said Carl Kirton, DNP, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at Lincoln.

Mothers who deliver at Lincoln are supported by an environment that encourages breastfeeding to be the norm and highlights the importance of breastfeeding to mother and baby health. In addition to designated lactation rooms, new moms are able to breastfeed anywhere in the hospital, staff throughout the facility receives sensitivity training enabling them to offer support to new moms, and multilingual educational posters are placed throughout the facility to further educate and promote breastfeeding.

To remove barriers to successful breastfeeding, Lincoln staff focused on two priority areas: uninterrupted skin-to-skin (STS) care after natural and cesarean births, and prenatal education about the importance of STS care following birth.

For new moms, several multilingual educational tools were created by a team consisting of an IBCLC® certified breastfeeding coordinator, prenatal nursing staff, and WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program dieticians and breastfeeding peer counselors. Improved staff procedures were implemented to ensure STS care consistency and successes, and newborns who were previously transferred for exams immediately following birth now stay with the mother for an hour for STS care to foster mother-baby bonding. All neonatal exams and blood work are done at the mother’s bedside and STS care with fathers or significant others are encouraged to further the bonding experience.

To learn more about labor and delivery services at Lincoln Medical Center contact (718) 579-5000 or visit nyc.gov/hhc.

 


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