Congratulations to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center on being recognized by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) and International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) for excellence in lactation care.
Southern New Hampshire Medical Center has received the IBCLC Care Award in recognition for staffing professionals who hold the prestigious International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant® (IBCLC®) certification and providing a lactation program with dedicated hours, five days a week. In addition, the facility demonstrated that it has recently completed activities that help protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
“Our project was to improve the success rate for women who have to pump for their babies born prematurely. Breast milk is very important for premature infants and can significantly reduce serious illnesses they are prone to. Our project was to improve initiation of breast milk expression after birth. Research shows early initiation increases breast milk volume and it comes in sooner. Staff were trained, research studies were shared, posters as reminders and key changes in practice were made. Our initiation rate improved dramatically from an average of 11 to 20 hours before initiation to 1 to 6 hours,” Rebecca Pockl, BSN, RN, IBCLC Lactation Coordinator at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, explains.
IBCLC recipients focus on preventive care, so they are available during pregnancy to assess and provide information on how to successfully initiate breastfeeding. They also continue that assistance after the baby is born by helping families overcome breastfeeding challenges, providing accurate information, and continuing to support them as their baby grows. They assist families returning to work or school, help families in more unusual situations such as breastfeeding more than one baby or nursing a sick or premature infant, and help train nursing staff to manage basic breastfeeding care.Norma Escobar, IBCLC Chair of the Board of IBLCE, recently stated, “Agencies that are awarded the IBCLC Care Award have dedicated their efforts to promote and provide a lactation program that makes expert assistance available when the breastfeeding family needs it.”
The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) and the International Lactation Consultant Association® (ILCA®) recognizes IBCLC Care Award Facilities for two years.
There are currently more than 32,500 such professionals in 122 countries worldwide that are IBCLCs.
