ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
One option for new mothers when it comes to feeding their babies is breastfeeding, and Seward County’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) staff has been working for many years to share that information in the community, particularly this past week.
“Every year, the week of Aug. 1 through 7 is World Breastfeeding Week, and that week is meant to raise awareness of breastfeeding and its benefits and help normalize it. This year's theme for World Breastfeeding Week is 'Breastfeeding Support For All,' and that goes into making sure all women are supported when it comes to breastfeeding and letting them know there are places that are breastfeeding-friendly, such as the Seward County Health Department and our WIC office,” Seward County WIC nurse Tammie Thompson said. “All of that correlates to a woman's autonomy and her right to feed her child. There are some other organizations that help make policies for working moms, such as taking breaks to pump. At WIC, we celebrated the week by having all of our pregnant mothers and new mothers and breastfeeding mothers come in and enter into our drawing for some free gift baskets that have some pretty neat goodies such as blankets, educational materials, breastfeeding bags, and chillers, among other stuff. All mothers who come into WIC during the month of August will also get a water bottle, and all mothers who are breastfeeding will receive a bag of milk storage bags. We're really excited to see our breastfeeding numbers are improving, we're happy to see more mothers wanting to breastfeed. We actually just learned last week how the CDC released the different rankings of the states when it comes to breastfeeding – last year, Kansas was around the bottom, and this year, we've made a huge improvement and we're in the top five, which we're really excited about.”
Thompson said she is proud of the work WIC does to share this information.
“I'm also a lactation consultant, and I want to be available to all mothers in the community if they're needing that help,” Thompson said. “I am an IBCLC, which means I'm an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and I had to go through a certain amount of training not only with my nursing education, but I also have to do 90 hours, every five years, in lactation. I also had to sit before a board and take the tests and everything else. Any mother having any trouble can come in, and I evaluate them to see what the issue is, what can I do to help, and is there an actual medical issue going on that needs to be corrected. I've been a nurse for 15 years, and I've been a lactation consultant for five of those years.”
Thompson also added some praise for her fellow staff.
“We also have Lilia Perez, who's a breastfeeding peer counselor, and that means she's been on WIC, has breastfed, and has some education to help, and she’s amazing,” Thompson said. “She reaches out to mothers roughly once a month to check on them and see how they're doing, and if there's a client who's pregnant, she shares some educational materials with them on what they need to know. She also visits the maternity floor at Southwest Medical Center Monday through Thursday and talks to those women, so we have that working relationship with the staff there and we have information we share with everyone. Having that relationship with the hospital, Lilia can go in there and answer any questions the mothers might have and let them know we're here to help. The hospital also has a questionnaire for all the moms as far as if they want/need breastfeeding help, whether or not they want to be on WIC and things like that.”
A big part of the information WIC shares concerns the benefits of breastfeeding to both the baby and mother, and Thompson said anyone with any questions or concerns should not be embarrassed to ask.
“Breastfeeding has a lot of benefits to the baby and mother. Breastmilk has antibodies and hormones and antivirus and anti-allergy and some growth components that can't be replicated with formula,” Thompson said. “Babies who are breastfed tend to be less sick, have fewer ear infections, and it also reduces their risk of diabetes and some other illnesses. For the mother, it reduces her risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer, it reduces her risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, so it's definitely beneficial all around. Also, don't be scared and don't be embarrassed if you have questions about everything, because as the old saying goes, there are no stupid questions. There are a lot of our staff with many years of experience with breastfeeding, and there was a point in time when we were ALL new to it, so whatever the question/struggle is, I guarantee we've also been in those shoes. Personally, my hardest time was with my third child, and I can remember being upset and saying to my husband 'I teach people all about this and I can't figure it out!' It doesn't matter whether you're a first-time mom or have a couple children already, we want to be here to help mothers get through whatever it is they're facing.”
Indeed, Thompson said there are many questions she and her staff frequent hear.
“A lot of times, we'll hear 'I don't think I'm making enough milk,' and what I always tell women is, for that first week, they'll be producing colostrum, which has all the nutrients and everything else the babies need to help protect them from illness and everything else,” Thompson said. “Also, babies' stomachs are VERY small, so at the very beginning, they don't actually require as much as might be thought. It's also normal for a breastfed baby to eat every two hours, so if a mom comes in thinking they're not making enough and not actually feeding their baby enough, we reassure them it's normal for that to occur.”
For any mothers wanting to learn more from WIC, Thompson said the door is open.
“WIC is for children from newborn to 5 years old, and it's also for pregnant women and postpartum women, so if there are any mothers out there who need our assistance, feel free to call us at (620) 626-3369, or visit our office at 1411 W. 15th Street,” Thompson said. “We’re here, and we’re happy to help.”
At the state level, Gov. Laura Kelly signed a proclamation last week recognizing August as Kansas Breastfeeding Month highlighting the importance of breastfeeding for the health and well-being of Kansans. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition have partnered in bringing awareness to the many benefits of breastfeeding.
“We are extremely pleased with Gov. Kelly’s proclamation, which highlights the importance of breastfeeding support for families in Kansas,” Brenda Bandy, IBCLC, Executive Director of the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition (KBC), noted in a release from the State of Kansas. “This proclamation supports their decision and fosters a landscape of breastfeeding support in our state for the benefit of Kansas children and families.”
“We know breastfeeding has many positive impacts,” Derik Flerlage, Director of KDHE Bureau of Family Health noted in the State of Kansas release. “Strong statewide partnerships and community collaboration allow our programs to better serve the needs of Kansas families as they care for children during their critical first months. Breastfeeding support where families work and care for their children will improve the baby's and the mother’s future health. The American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on breastfeeding calls for policy changes to address obstacles for parents who choose to breastfeed, including universal paid maternity leave and insurance coverage for lactation support. Gov. Kelly’s proclamation stresses the role of every Kansan to make breastfeeding easier in our state. The KBC State of Breastfeeding in Kansas 2023 report has the most recent breastfeeding rates for Kansas along with action items and resources for individuals, employers, child care providers, health care professionals and others to support breastfeeding.”
