Lactation Services

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Breastfeeding provides your precious baby with the nutrients needed for a healthy first year of life and provides many other benefits for both of you. Breastfeeding provides the healthiest of foods for your new little bundle and also creates a very special time for mother and child to bond. Breastfeeding promotes skin-to-skin contact, which is beneficial for both mom and baby.

The Birth Center offers support services to help you with breastfeeding, including:

• A lactation consultant
• One-on-one breastfeeding support while in the hospital

Health Benefits for Baby
The cells, hormones and antibodies in breast milk protect babies from illness. This protection is unique and changes to meet your baby's needs. For babies who are breastfed the first 6 weeks of life, studies have shown a:

• 50 percent decrease in ear infections
• 27 percent decrease in asthma
• 39 percent decrease in diabetes
• 19 percent decrease in childhood leukemias
• 36 percent decrease in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Health Benefits for Mommy

For moms who breastfed their babies for 6 weeks after birth, studies have shown a:

• 28 percent decrease in breast cancer
• 21 percent decrease in ovarian cancer
• 12 percent decrease in diabetes

How does breastfeeding compare to formula-feeding?

• Formula can be harder for your baby to digest. For most babies, especially premature babies, breast milk substitutes like formula are more difficult to digest. Because formulas are made from cow's milk, it may take time for a baby's stomach to adjust for digestion.
• Life can be easier for you when you breastfeed. At first, it may seem that breastfeeding takes a little more effort than formula feeding, but breastfeeding can make your life easier once you and your baby settle into a routine. When you breastfeed, there are no bottles and nipples to sterilize and you do not have to buy, measure and mix formula. When you breastfeed, you can satisfy your baby's hunger right away without having to heat a bottle in the middle of the night.
• Formula costs money. Formula and feeding supplies can cost well over $1,500 each year.
• Breastfeeding keeps mother and baby close. Physical contact is important to newborns because it helps babies to feel more secure, warm and comforted. Mothers also benefit from this closeness as skin-to-skin contact boosts your oxytocin levels. Oxytocin is a hormone that helps breast milk flow and can calm the mother.