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Hartford Hospital - Breastfeeding Heritage and Pride Peer Counseling Program
Breast-feeding is the optimal way to feed infants. This program encourages the initiation and duration of breast-feeding among the low-income women who deliver their babies at Hartford Hospital, an inner-city hospital with a large minority population. A lactation consultant trains peer counselors who make prenatal visits to pregnant women to provide information and encouragement in regard to breast-feeding. At the hospital, they provide hands-on help to new mothers, and they provide telephone follow-up and home visits to help and empower new mothers.
What is it?
Breast-feeding is the optimal way to feed infants. This program encourages the initiation and duration of breast-feeding among the low-income women who deliver their babies at Hartford Hospital, an inner-city hospital with a large minority population. A lactation consultant trains peer counselors who make prenatal visits to pregnant women to provide information and encouragement in regard to breast-feeding. At the hospital, they provide hands-on help to new mothers, and they provide telephone follow-up and home visits to help and empower new mothers.
Who is it for?
Low-income pregnant women and postpartum mothers.
Why do they do it?
Low-income patients delivering babies at the hospital were not aware of the benefits of breast-feeding for both the mother and baby and did not have support to successfully breast-feed.
Impact
In the past year, the program served more than 1,000 patients. Almost two-thirds of these women are Hispanic, and the next highest ethnic group percentage is African American. The overall breast-feeding duration rate is an impressive 61 percent at 90 days and 39 percent at 6 months.
Contact: Sara Young
Clinical Nurse Specialist/Lactation Consultant
Telephone: 860-545-1313
E-mail: syoung@harthosp.org
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