Using Loving Support Breastfeeding Initiative Steering Committee Meeting Minutes June 6th, 2008 Announcements •Tempa announced that CDC funding for her program, the Physical Activity & Nutrition Program for Healthier Weight, was not renewed for this next 5 year funding cycle. This will affect Tempa being able to continue chairing the Loving Support Steering committee because she will have to take a new position. The committee decided to submit a letter of support for Tempa's continuance on the committee (Jim agreed to draft it). •Connie announced that the Cibola County Breastfeeding Task force has plans to hold a community breastfeeding awareness luncheon at the Laguna casino. They plan to use their WBW task force grant money to sponsor the subway lunch. They will highlight the new worksite breast pumping law and have a question and answer session for participating businesses. Sharon suggested using the new HHS worksite toolkit for employers. Debriefing of Breastfeeding Community Event and Action Steps •Tempa and Connie emailed a summary report of community input that was gathered from the forum. Carol was able to disseminate and categorize the information into barriers and solutions. She will send this out to the committee for review. oBarriers - lack of knowledge & support or lack of access to knowledge & support oSolutions - women need both knowledge and support •Public communication •Support from various others -Suggestions: education; general/public mass communication; Ed. before delivery & follow up after delivery •Action steps from these suggestions: -Cibola County Task Force continue planning breastfeeding worksite awareness luncheon at Laguna casino for WBW -Carol and Jim will coordinate with providers and try to meet with them on July 2nd to establish better support from them o Schedule individual meetings or meet with all by participating in one of the provider committee meetings oProvide breakfast or lunch oDeliver breastfeeding support manuals and materials oApprise providers of the findings from the community forum -Continue to follow up with Dorkus and hospital policies oCheck on providing a commercial breast pump for the hospital -Check with Medela - donation of free pump with purchase of kits -Give Dorkus this information so that she can follow up on this and set up a Medela in-service with Carol and Rep oCheck to see if Dorkus has made progress on establishing a baby friendly hospital policy and is using the breastfeeding DVD that Carol provided -Establish a breastfeeding support group in a church for day-time and evening sessions oRaffle off a swing or a breastfeeding basket to get involvement and participation oFind a champion that can be a liaison between the church group and the support group oSecure the breastfeeding peer councilor to lead the support group -Look into mass communication around breastfeeding promotion oTalk with the local TV station about running WIC breastfeeding ads oMake own breastfeeding advertising on community billboards -Look into lactation consultant training for community member . Next Steps -Community intervention (above) -Follow up with Janna and get baseline surveys from her -Letter of support for Tempa Next Meeting Date: July 28 at 1:00 - 3:00 conference call - call-in information to follow * * * |
Loving Support Breastfeeding and Obesity Prevention Project |
Baby Friendly Community Initiative: The Baby Friendly Community Initiative is a spin-off of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. It builds on Step 10 - expanding support for breastfeeding mothers after they leave the hospital. The goal is to mobilize the community to support breastfeeding. It features a 7 point Community Health Service Plan: 1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff. 2. Train all staff involved in the care of mothers and babies in the skills necessary to implement the policy. 3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding. 4. Support mothers to establish and maintain exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months. 5. Encourage continued breastfeeding beyond 6 months, with appropriate introduction of other foods. 6. Provide a welcoming atmosphere for breastfeeding families. 7. Promote co-operation between health care staff, breastfeeding support groups and the local community . The UK, Canada, New Zealand, and other countries have implemented Baby Friendly Community Initiatives. In New Zealand, Wairaropa has seen impressive increases in breastfeeding rates since they implemented the program. Their percentage of exclusively breastfed babies at six weeks has risen from 47% in 2002 to 73% in 2007. By involving a variety of organizations working together to support breastfeeding mothers, they have been able to dramatically increase their rates. Groups such as La Leche League, Parents as First Teachers, Family Start, and others involved with mothers and babies are working together and regularly making decisions to better meet the needs of the breastfeeding mothers. Perhaps the greatest gift we can give the mothers in our communities in 2008 would be to start a similar effort. Imagine what would happen if every community doubled their rate of exclusively breastfeeding mothers! (From Medications and More Newsletter. Hale Publishing) |