State initiative offers nursing moms a hand

In terms of breast-feeding support, Arkansas is in the midst of a renaissance.

In October 2015, Gov. Asa Hutchinson launched Healthy Active Arkansas, a 10-year initiative with improving breast-feeding rates as a priority.

Some of the goals are as follows:

Establish reimbursement for lactation consultation from public and private insurance plans.

Encourage day care centers to offer breast-feeding support.

Educate businesses on Act 621 of 2009, which requires employers to provide unpaid break time and reasonable locations for pumping breast milk.

Last month, Hutchinson also declared March 28 Breastfeeding Awareness Day in Arkansas.

“Breastfeeding benefits to mother and child are widely known by mothers and medical professionals,” the governor said in a statement last week.

“As we increase the number of newborn Arkansans who have the benefit of nursing, we increase the collective physical and emotional health of our state. It boosts the immune system and bonds mother and child. This is a quality-of-life issue that I can promote without reservation,” he said.

UAMS Medical Center recently became the fourth hospital in Arkansas to be “Baby-Friendly” certified, which promotes breastmilk feeding for infants, according Baby-Friendly USA, the organization that does the certifying.

And more hospitals are on the way, said Jessica Donahue, a lactation consultant and registered nurse with Baptist Health, who also leads the breast-feeding priority group for Healthy Active Arkansas.

There are ample resources that already exist, Donahue added. Baptist Health lactation consultants help staff a statewide breast-feeding helpline 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The number is (800) 445-6175.

Women also can schedule outpatient lactation sessions or be referred to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, Donahue said.

La Leche League, an international nonprofit that educates mothers about breast-feeding, has chapters across Arkansas.

The gap between ideal and actual breast-feeding rates in Arkansas can feel “a little overwhelming and daunting,” said Dr. Misty Virmani, a neonatologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

“But my perspective is, we are slowly making effective changes in our community.”