The Healthy Benefits of Breastfeeding Support

In 2015, Brookings Health System was the first hospital in our region to become designated Baby Friendly®, meaning Brookings Health has established practices to promote and support breastfeeding. One of those practices is New Beginnings Baby Café, a free support session that helps mothers in every aspect of nursing to keep their babies healthy.

Breastfeeding gives newborns the perfect nutrition for their best start in life. 

“When you are born, your immune system is immature and has never seen any kind of diseases. Everything your mom has been vaccinated for and been infected with throughout her life, she produces antibodies to those that crosses the breast milk. That is the baby’s only protection for up to the first two years of their life,” said OB-GYN Dr. Richard Gudvangen of Avera Medical Group Specialty Care.

Studies have also shown that nursing reduces adolescent and adult obesity and the risk of several childhood diseases. Because of the advantages of breastfeeding, the World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively for six months and continue to breastfeed babies for at least one year. 

But sometimes breastfeeding can be challenging for a new mom and baby to adapt to. According to the CDC’s 2016 Breastfeeding Report Card, only 45.1% of South Dakota babies are exclusively breastfed for three months. That number sharply declines to only 23.4% for six months of exclusive breastfeeding. Support groups, like New Beginnings Baby Café, guide mothers through challenges and reassure them they are making the best choice for their baby. In fact, surveys show 68% of mothers who attend New Beginnings Baby Café exclusively nurse their babies for six months.

“We started New Beginnings Baby Café to give breastfeeding support to women after discharge due to the challenges they meet in the community, at work and with family,” said Obstetrics Director Mary Schwaegerl.

All expecting and breastfeeding moms are invited to attend New Beginnings Baby Café. Support sessions are held every Tuesday evening from 5 to 7 p.m. and every Thursday afternoon from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the New Beginnings Family Room on the OB unit. 

Baby Café offers certified lactation consultants and counselors on standby free-of-charge to help mothers with every aspect of breastfeeding, from initiating to weaning. Attendees have the opportunity to open up about their successes and struggles with other breastfeeding mothers, receive free help from lactation consultants and weigh-feed-weigh their babies to reassure their babies drink enough milk.

By supporting mothers to breastfeed their babies, New Beginnings Baby Café helps mothers give their infants a healthy start to life.

Want to learn more about the New Beginnings Baby Café and the breastfeeding support Brookings Health System offers? Visit brookingshealth.org/breastfeeding.