In April, Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) nurses were presented the Nebraska’s Lactation Education Across Rural Nebraska (LEARN) Breastfeeding Hospital Champion Campaign certificate after completing the programs requirements in early March.
According to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NEDHHS), the LEARN Breastfeeding Hospital Champion Campaign started in August 2022. Its overall goal is to increase breastfeeding in Nebraska. Using Maternity Practice in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) results from each individual hospital, the program assists hospitals in implementing best practices and policies that will improve infant nutrition and care. The Nebraska mPINC Results focus on six topics: immediate postpartum care, rooming-in, feeding practices, feeding education and support, discharge support, and institutional management.
OB Coordinator Samantha Andreasen said that she began working with the LEARN group at NEDHHS and Jackie Moline, NEDHHS Maternal Infant Health Program Manager, in February, with the goal of increasing BBGH’s mPINC score in the 2024 survey.
In 2022, BBGH’s total hospital score was 74. The average total score of hospitals in the region was 80, with hospitals that have a similar delivery rate (less than 250 deliveries a year) having a total score of 77.
The team focused on feeding education and support and immediate postpartum care. Immediate postpartum care includes skin to skin contact for at least an hour after birth or until breastfed, monitoring newborns continuously for the first two hours after birth, educating mothers on recognizing and responding to feeding cues, breastfeeding on demand, and effective breastfeeding assessments.
“Breastfeeding is a passion shared by our group of nurses, and this designation award acknowledges our dedication to promoting lactation resources within our community,” Andreasen said.
Currently, BBGH provides lactation counseling for first-time moms as well as moms who have previously breastfed that may be experiencing difficulties. The goal of BBGH’s four lactation counselors is to help moms be successful in their baby-feeding journey. You can start visiting a lactation counselor while you’re still pregnant, right after birth, or months into breastfeeding.
Reasons to see a lactation counselor include: milk supply concerns, struggling with nursing positions, issues with latching, tongue-tie, or sucking, and breast refusal.
To schedule an appointment with a lactation counselor, please call 308-762-7244. Appointments are available Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
