Lactation experts work to dispel myths, explain health boons

Horror stories and misinformation about breast-feeding are so common that Suzie Owens often walks into a room of mothers-to-be who are too afraid to ever try it. But as St. Rose Dominican Hospitals’ lead lactation consultant, she works to bust these myths and teach people about breast-feeding’s benefits.

“One of the biggest things I hear is that women assume breast-feeding is going to be too hard and they are going to fail at it,” she says. “If that were true, we probably wouldn’t have survived.”

Breast-feeding used to be more common until baby formula was developed in the 1950s, Owens says. Many women opted out of breast-feeding, unaware of the good it can provide.

“In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics started putting out information about the benefits of breastfeeding,” says Rosemarie Arroyo-Casillas, a lactation consultant. “It went from saying breast-feeding was a lifestyle to a public health issue. Breast-feeding creates healthy citizens, and we want that.”

With more and more medical research and organizations behind breast-feeding, Arroyo-Casillas says the practice is coming back. There are benefits for both the mother and the child, she says.

For newborns, breast-feeding reduces the risks for ear infections, eczema, asthma, diabetes and gastrointestinal infections.

“You also have a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS,” Owens says. “There is even research that it lowers the risk of leukemia.”

Practice can lower risk of some ailments

For newborns, breAst-feeding reduces the risks for eAr infections, eczemA, AsthmA, diAbetes And gAstrointestinAl infections. “You Also hAve A lower risk of sudden infAnt deAth syndrome, or SIDS,” lActAtion consultAnt Suzie Owens sAys. “There is even reseArch thAt it lowers the risk of leukemiA.” She sAys for moms, breAst-feeding cAn Also lower the risks for breAst cAncer, ovAriAn cAncer And diAbetes.

She says for moms, breast-feeding can also lower the risks for breast cancer, ovarian cancer and diabetes.

Beyond health benefits there are economic benefits. Arroyo-Casillas says breast-feeding can save about $1,600 per year.

But most moms they meet don’t know this information. So, Owens’ classes at St. Rose and Arroyo-Casillas’ workshops at Belly Bliss Perinatal Spa work to spread good information and counteract the bad.

“Some women think they can’t breast-feed because they take certain medications,” Owens says. “But there aren’t many medications you can’t take while breast-feeding.”

In the past few years, Owens says, St. Rose has worked to be a resource for pregnant women, which includes providing accurate information about breast-feeding.

After women give birth, St. Rose provides a hotline for mothers to ask breast-feeding questions.

St. Rose also provides breast-feeding classes and has sought to become BabyFriendly-certified by Baby-Friendly USA, an Albany, N.Y.-based organization promoting breast-feeding, As a result, the hospital changed many of its policies and procedures for patient care.

“It’s things like, we can’t receive free formula for the companies,” she says. “If we do purchase it, we have to get everything at a fair market value.”

This works out because the hospital is giving out less formula as it promotes breast-feeding.

All the nurses received additional training to help with new moms. St. Rose also has international boardcertified lactation consultants on hand to help new mothers.

“It’s an international board exam,” Owens says. “Most of us who are certified don’t have a medical background.”

Once certified, consultants can officially teach and provide resources to women who have questions about breast-feeding.

Baby-Friendly USA came out to the San Martin Campus in 2013 to survey the hospital to see whether it met all the requirements. The San Martin Campus received the certification in February 2014 with the Siena Campus following in September.

Owens says Dignity Health, St. Rose’s parent company, is pushing its hospitals in other states to receive this designation. Other than St. Rose, Owens says two hospitals in Northern Nevada also have this certification.

Aside from the baby-friendly initiative, St. Rose also is part of a milk bank. The bank collects milk from nursing mothers — some donate extra they might have had in the freezer that their baby won’t use.

The milk is given to babies who are born prematurely and are in the neonatal intensive care unit.

“(The milk bank) is for moms who don’t have enough breast milk or can’t provide for their babies,” Owens says. “It’s something used in hospitals around the country when a mother’s breast milk isn’t available. That is the case when a mother passes away. It’s really sad.”

Women can contact the nonprofit Human Milk Banking Association of North America (https://www.hmbana. org/) to learn how to donate unused breast milk. Milk goes through an intensive screening process, which includes pasteurization, to make sure it can be used.

Owens has heard of mothers whose newborns have died who decided to continue to pump breast milk so they could donate it to the organization. St. Rose has been using the program since 2012.

Arroyo-Casillas says there are additional resources for breast-feeding. She works with Women, Infant and Children and Belly Bliss at Desert Perinatal Spa providing resources for the community, including monthly classes mothers can take.

The class is usually $15, but she says they work with mothers who can’t afford it.

Though many medical-based organizations are getting on board with breast-feeding, some businesses still frown upon it.

“There are too many stories of mothers being yelled at because they are feeding in public,” she says. “Or moms being asked to leave certain places, which is not OK.”

Arroyo-Casillas says recently there have been efforts to ensure that Nevada is more breast-feeding friendly and to protect moms from public shaming.

To do so, the campaign, Nevada Breastfeeds, is encouraging businesses to sign a pledge to support breastfeeding.

Once businesses sign onto the campaign, they will get signs to hang in their establishments.

“That way if someone starts complaining, the business can refer to the sign,” she says.

The campaign started this year and has about 15 pledges.

Belly Bliss at Desert Perinatal Spa and Desert Perinatal Associates were among the first to sign on to the campaign.

“The biggest thing we are doing is trying to normalize breast-feeding,” Arroyo-Casillas says.

In the end, Arroyo-Casillas says breast-feeding is still a choice for mothers, who can opt out if they truly don’t want to.

“We just want women to have the best information about breast-feeding before they make that choice,” she says. Contact reporter Michael Lyle At mlyle@reviewjournAl.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.