Community Health: National Breastfeeding Awareness Month

August is National Breastfeeding Awareness month so our conversation today gave us great information about the ins and outs of breastfeeding. It is part of our community health partnership with Valley Health where we talk each month with administrators, physicians, and other Valley Health staff about health topics, events, and the community. Two lactation consultants from Winchester Medical Center joined me today: Tammy Alkire, RNC, IBCLC and Anna Stewart, NP, IBCLC (in training.) We discussed: Prenatal education and breastfeeding preparation prior to delivery that include online breastfeeding classes offered at WMC and reputable resources parents can seek out prior to delivery. Those include: https://firstdroplets.com/ and https://kellymom.com/ Tools for getting off to a good start with breastfeeding Thinking about who is in your community circle (friends, family, community resources) that can help along the breastfeeding journey.  They mentioned La Leche League of Northern Shenandoah Valley. The importance of mother's follow-up with a primary care provider to ensure good health and birth recovery. We also discussed all health benefits for mom and baby that breastfeeding offers as well as ancillary benefits that some moms (and particularly employers) might not realize. We also talked about situations where medications may have an impact on the breastfeeding process. Tammy mentioned an app for research/education: MommyMeds that you can find in the Apple and Google app stores. Finally, Anna discussed the "fourth trimester" and how it's changing how parents and doctors look at pregnancies, their long-term treatment and planning.