August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month

August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month and although we are always supportive of breastfeeding and the incredible benefits for both Mom and Baby, during August we get to focus on it a little bit more.

National Breastfeeding Awareness Month is a breastfeeding campaign funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with the hope of empowering women to commit to breastfeeding.  Research shows that babies that are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life are less likely to develop ear infections, diarrhea and respiratory illnesses, and may be less likely to develop childhood obesity.

Breastfeeding is one of the most natural and intimate connections that we can have with another human being.  However, although it is natural, that doesn’t mean it is necessarily easy.  This is especially true during the first few weeks of your little ones’ life.  It takes knowledge, and practice and sometimes just  being able to ask for help.  Things change rapidly in our society, and one of the things that has changed dramatically over the last 30 years is the perception of breastfeeding and really the awareness about the incredible benefits of breastfeeding.  We now have research that shows the undeniable benefits of breast milk, or what many now call liquid gold!

Desert Perinatal Associates, in partnership with Belly Bliss, have many resources for moms.  Belly Bliss offers two, in-depth, breastfeeding classes to prepare mom before her baby is born, they offer pump rentals, nursing bras, lactation supplements, nursing accessories, bottles, and access to one of the best Lactation Counselors in Southern Nevada, Rosemarie Casillas, IBCLC.  Rosemarie teaches the breastfeeding classes at Belly Bliss and is very involved with many breastfeeding organizations across the valley.  She is an incredible resource for our patients.

Educational campaigns over the years have created real momentum toward empowering women to breastfeed their babies and to stick with it until they achieve their breastfeeding goals; knowing that they are giving their babies the best possible start to a beautiful life.

Support and education are essential to having success with breastfeeding; here are some great resources!

“BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT”

LACTATION CONSULTANT:

Rosemarie Casillas:  (702) 592-7673

INFORMATIONAL WEBSITES:

• Healthy Children.Org  (from the American Academy of Pediatrics) – Healthychildren.org – Everything you need to know about Breastfeeding
• Le Leche League – USA – Le Leche League – Helping mothers to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education.
• National Breastfeeding Helpline: (800) 994-9662
• Southern Nevada Breastfeeding Coalition – www.snvbreastfeeding.org – The mission for SNBC is to inspire, educate and build community support to make breastfeeding the norm for infant feeding in Nevada.

BREASTFEEDING CLASSES:

Belly Bliss Classes

Topics covered in this class are latch, the importance of the first few hours baby is born, methods to increase milk production and much more. Our lactation counselor will help you to feel more confident and be better prepared, so that you may have success in breastfeeding your infant.

BREAST PUMP RENTAL / SALES:

Hospital grade breast pumps and starter kits are available for rent at Belly Bliss!

MILK BANKS:

Milk Bank of San Jose

San Jose Mother’s Milk Bank is a non-profit human milk bank dedicated to providing donated breast milk to infants that need it most. They collect excess breast milk from volunteer breastfeeding mothers, store the breast milk for optimal nutritional value, process the breast milk to remove viruses and bacteria that may cause illness and distribute donor milk to hospitals and families.