St. David’s Georgetown Hospital has been recognized for providing a high level of breastfeeding education and support to patients in recent years.
The hospital’s investments are designed to encourage more new mothers to breastfeed their babies amid a 12% increase in deliveries since last year, said Kelsey McKenna, a lead international board-certified lactation consultant and registered nurse with St. David’s Georgetown. Breast feeding reduces the risk of disease and complications while boosting the health of newborns, McKenna said.
How it works
Since 2021, St. David’s Georgetown has been recognized as a Texas Ten Step Facility. Texas Health and Human Services awards the designation to hospitals that have implemented policies, staff training, resources and procedures that educate patients on the benefits of breastfeeding and teach them best practices.
As a Texas Ten Step Facility, St. David’s Georgetown has met the following criteria:
- Having documented policies related to infant feeding
- Providing annual breastfeeding education to more than 50% of staff members
- Offering prenatal breastfeeding education classes
- Educating mothers about immediate skin-to-skin contact with their baby after birth
- Showing mothers how to breastfeed
- Offering educational materials and handouts
- Educating mothers on rooming-in with their babies after birth
- Teaching mothers how to provide feeding on cue for their babies
- Offering education about alternative feeding devices and pacifiers
- Sharing community resources that mothers can use after being discharged from the hospital
The hospital's Texas Ten Step status was recently renewed in November, McKenna said.
In their own words
“Having this Texas Ten Step designation ensures that the processes are up-to-date, effective and consistent for each [mom and baby],” McKenna said. “It's to provide them a lot of education so they can make informed decisions. We want to support what they want.”
The impact
St. David’s Georgetown has seen a growing need for maternal care and breastfeeding support in the Georgetown community, McKenna said. Each month, about 55% of mothers who deliver their babies at St. David’s Georgetown exclusively breastfeed, she said.
“People are having more babies in this community,” McKenna said. “That's why it's so important ... that we're with the most evidence-based practice, and we're being accountable, and they have the full support from start to finish.”
Why it matters
Many new mothers are unaware of the benefits of breastfeeding and how it differs from formula, Kelsey said. Breast milk is the “perfect first food” that can provide a lifetime of immunities for babies and decrease the risk of developing allergies, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and many chronic illnesses, she said.
Breastfeeding can also lower the risk of developing chronic illnesses for the mother, including heart disease, breast and ovarian cancers, Type 2 diabetes and postpartum hemorrhage, McKenna said.
“Breast milk also adjusts each month with what the baby needs, and it also does communicate with the baby's saliva what the baby's low in and will put more of that into the milk,” McKenna said. “It’s the perfect system."
St. David’s Georgetown staff help patients navigate challenges that may discourage them from breastfeeding. Lactation consultants show patients how to use breastfeeding pillows and address common issues, such as cluster-feeding and tongue ties.
“Pillows are so essential to prevent infection because of damage or pain and less transfer,” McKenna said. “If the mom's holding the baby throughout the whole feeding, they're going to slowly slip down, and that cascades over time to be worse and worse pain and... damage.”
One more thing
St. David’s Georgetown provides breastfeeding equipment for patients through its Breast Pump Depot. The hospital is aiming to increase its supply of donor milk, which is available to all infants, McKenna said.
After leaving the hospital, mothers can access free lactation visits, regardless of income level, at Texas WIC’s Georgetown office, she said.
