Klug and Gerlach become Certified Lactation Consultants
- November 12, 2013
Sara Klug and Aleycia Gerlach, registered nurses in Brookings Health System’s OB department, recently became International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) from the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE).
As certified lactation consultants, Klug and Gerlach are available to assist parents who deliver at Brookings Health System with any breastfeeding needs. Assistance they offer includes positioning and latching of an infant, establishing and increasing milk production, and breastfeeding support measures when mothers go back to work or are otherwise separated from their baby.
To become certified lactation consultants, Klug and Gerlach completed 90 hours of IBCLE-approved lactation education and 1,000 hours of supervised clinical experience with breastfeeding mothers and babies. In addition, they were required to have completed college-level science and anatomy classes
Their certification signals they are knowledgeable about evidence-based lactation practices as demonstrated through a rigorous 200 question exam process.
In addition to IBCLC, Klug is also an International Childbirth Educator Association (ICEA). She holds a nursing degree from SDSU and has 13 years of nursing experience, 11 years specifically in obstetrics. Gerlach holds a nursing degree from Medcenter One College of Nursing in Bismarck and has seven years of nursing experience, all in obstetrics. She also has three years of previous experience as a certified lactation counselor.
This summer, Brookings Health System announced the organization was pursuing a Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) accreditation, a World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) program that encourages and recognizes hospitals that promote and support breastfeeding. Having staff as dedicated lactation consultants helps Brookings Health System to further support nursing mothers.
Brookings Health System’s OB unit, New Beginnings Birth Center, has eight-beds with three labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum (LDRP) rooms and five postpartum recovery rooms. The unit provides full OB services to expectant parents and enables area residents to deliver their baby close to home with a local physician. To learn more about New Beginnings Birth Center, please visit www.brookingshealth.org/OB.
About Brookings Health System
Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic, Arlington Medical Center and White Medical Clinic. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, surgical and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.