Breastfeeding Education & Support
Breastfeeding is the optimal method of infant feeding and nurturing. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement “Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk” cites research indicating that breastfeeding provides health, nutritional, immunologic, developmental, psychological, social, economic, and environmental advantages unmatched by other feeding options. Human milk is recommended as the preferred feeding for all infants, including premature and sick newborns, with rare exceptions, for at least the first year of life, and longer as mutually desired by mother and child. Breastfeeding also benefits women, reducing the risk of premenopausal breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
Breastfeeding education and support services are:
- The provision of anticipatory guidance and support in order to prevent breastfeeding problems and to address barriers to breastfeeding, and
- Those services provided to postpartum women to increase the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding and to enable them to overcome any perceived breastfeeding problems
Our curriculum’s include:
18-20 Hour Breastfeeding Educator Certification
This 18-hour course fulfills the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recommendations for health care professionals. It complies with the World Health Organization (WHO) International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes. The competencies of a Breastfeeding Support Educator include: Knowledge of principles of normal breastfeeding; Knowledge of barriers to breastfeeding and ability to address them; Ability to provide assessment of commonly recurring short term problems or complications; Knowledge and ability to give mothers breastfeeding information based on current breastfeeding research. Program materials include: La Leche League International’s “Breastfeeding Answer Book” and “Medications and Mothers’ Milk” by Thomas Hale, PhD.
Loving Support through Peer Counseling
“Loving Support© Through Peer Counseling: A Journey Together – For Training WIC Peer Counselors” is the nationally-approved training program for WIC peer counselors. This competency-based curriculum equips participants with skills in counseling and breastfeeding management to promote breastfeeding and address common.
Lactation Counselor Certificate Training (CLC) Program
This 5-day, 45 hour comprehensive breastfeeding management course includes practical skills, theoretical foundations, strategies and tips for the management of breastfeeding in the hospital, public health setting, and the community within a context of counseling the mother. Course content is guided by the Standards of Practice for Lactation Consultants developed by the International Lactation Consultant Association and the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. Successful completion results in the award of a certificate (C.L.C.).
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