World Breastfeeding Week is August 1-7. It’s a week that focuses on empowering parents to reach breastfeeding goals.
Amber Franklin is a mother of 3 kids, with her youngest having been born in July. With her first child, she says she only breastfed for a few months. With her second child, she breastfed for 2 years. She says breastfeeding longer creates a bond between mom and baby.
“I worked with my first one, so I didn’t feel like I had a big of a bond,” said Franklin. “I felt like I needed a better bond. So with my second baby I decided to do it longer and it’s been incredible. He’s my sidekick. He is my partner in crime, and he goes everywhere I go. So it definitely solidified the mommy son bond.”
Kate Copass is an internationally board certified lactation consultant at Comanche County Memorial Hospital. She says not only does breastfeeding create a bond, but there are nutritional benefits as well.
“The milk is very valuable to increase their immune system,” said Copass. “It can help reduce their chances of getting allergies, ear infections, respiratory issues. So we encourage all moms who are able to breastfeed to consider breastfeeding or pumping their breast milk.”
Franklin says with her first child, breastfeeding was a little hard for her. However, it got better with her second and third baby.
“Second time around it was much easier for me,” said Franklin. “It came much more natural for him and for me. And with Owen, he came out and latched right on. It was just boom, he took right to it.”
CCMH is a designated Baby-Friendly Hospital by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
“We are here to inform our families, give them education so they can make a informed choice on how they want to feed their baby,” said Copass. “We’re here to support their feeding goals whether they want to breastfeed in the hospital, nurse or pump while they’re on maternity leave, or breastfeed for 1-2 years.”
Franklin says the nurses and staff at CCMH were very helpful to her when it came to breastfeeding. Her advice to new mothers, is not to give up and to ask questions.
“Like I said, my first baby it was super hard,” said Franklin. “And it was super easy for me to get to the point where I gave up. But the more you know, the more you ask, the better you are. The better the results you’ll get in the end.”
If mothers or families in SWOK have any questions about breastfeeding, you can call the infant feeding resource center at CCMH at 580-250-5253.