BABY CAFE OPENS
New moms, mothers-to-be get space for breastfeeding and support
TROY, N.Y. » New mothers and mothers-to- be celebrated the launch of a Troy Baby Café on Friday, during World Breastfeeding Week.
The new Baby Café is now open at Commission on Economic Opportunity’s Community Resource Center in Troy, on the third floor of the 2328 5th Ave. building.
Here, once a week, moms can breastfeed their children on-site, while getting assistance from both professionals and peers.
Baby Café is a national network of free breastfeeding drop-ins, combining the expertise of skilled practitioners and mothers to offer support to parents at all stages of breastfeeding in a professional but non-clinical, café-style environment.
Baby Café USA has more than 45 drop-ins around the United States, in 14 states, supporting more than 2,000 moms every year.
Established in 2011, all Baby Cafés are free, and are open to all those interested in any aspect of breastfeeding – mothers, partners, supporters – and take place in community venues.
Funded by grants from St. Peter’s Health Partners Community Health Programs, and in affiliation with nonprofit organization Baby Café USA, the new Baby Café in Troy, and another in Schenectady, will provide pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in the area a comfortable environment to learn more about breastfeeding.
Local moms and families were invited to help
celebrate the launch of the new Baby Café in Troy on Friday for an open house celebration in recognition of World Breastfeeding Week.
Another event was held at the Schenectady Baby Café, operated by Schenectady County Public Health Services and located in the Phyllis Bornt Branch Library and Literacy Center at 948 State St.
At both locations, mothers can relax, share tips and techniques, and socialize with other mothers. Oneon-one help is also available from certified lactation specialists and peer counselors.
The Troy Baby Café at CEO is open from noon to 2 p.m. every Wednesday, at the organization’s Community Resource Center. The Baby Café complements CEO’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children ( WIC), a national program of the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.
“We are so excited to be opening the new Troy Baby Café at CEO to the community,” said Melissa Sacco, CEO’s WIC program manager and coordinator of the Baby Café in Troy, in a press release. “This model provides a great community resource to pregnant and breastfeeding moms, providing support that is so often needed in a comfortable, safe space. Supporting and helping families with breastfeeding and promoting the healthy development of infants is the central focus of the WIC program, and so this is a natural collaboration.”
The Troy Baby Café will be managed by an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Lisa Rufo, who will be assisted by two part-time lactation consultants. SPHP Community Health Programs will provide $26,600 annually for five years to support the Troy Baby Café.
“We are thrilled to launch these Baby Cafés, which will offer community support for breastfeeding women in Troy and Schenectady, and enable them to breastfeed for longer,” said Erin Sinisgalli, director of SPHP Community Health Programs, in the release. “Long-term studies of breastfeeding show it contributes to a lifetime of good health for babies. It also provides many positive health benefits for moms, and gives them some quiet time to relax and bond with their baby.”
The two new regional Baby Cafés are part of a fiveyear initiative called Creating Breastfeeding Friendly Communities. Less than one year in, this program is aiming to create and build on existing breastfeeding coalitions and bring breastfeeding facilities to childcare sites, healthcare practices and work sites. Presented by SPHP and the state Department of Health, the overarching goal of this effort is to reduce childhood obesity.
Organizers’ hope for the future of the Troy Baby Café is to help as many people as
possible, have mothers attending regularly, and eventually expand hours.
“Our goal is to help the moms in the community with their breastfeeding needs and to support the efforts and really normalize breastfeeding,” Sacco said at the grand opening event.
“I think it’s a really good idea. It’s hard for a lot of moms to connect, being in this area anyway, so to have something to bring us together is really great,” said local mom Jakia York of Troy, who was checking out the Baby Café for the first time on Friday.
“It’s good to get info from other moms, stuff that you might not know,” continued York, who had her two-week old baby, Sincere, there with her. This is York’s first time breastfeeding, and she feels like she could use a resource such as the Baby Café.
Peer breastfeeding counselor Hia Weitzman, a mother of three, said she takes much joy in helping fellow moms. “It feels good,” she said. With her first child, Weitzman struggled breastfeeding, and would have loved a resource like the Baby Café, she said.
“It’s awesome,” said lactation consultant Sarah Tice, while using the new Troy space with her son Aaron. “It’s such a needed resource in the community.”
For more information on the Troy Baby Café, contact (518) 272- 6012, Ext. 255 or visit www.ceoempowers.org/the-troy- baby- cafe- atceo/.
Health care providers who wish to volunteer or participate in the Baby Cafés should contact Kristin Lynch at SPHP Community Health Programs at (518) 459-2550.