At BCH, we support moms-to-be and new moms who want and are able to give
their babies a healthy start in life through breastfeeding. Our Family
Birth Center at Foothills Hospital is here to help you take advantage
of all the benefits of breastfeeding by providing any needed education
or services before your baby is born, while you’re in the hospital
and after you go home.
Breast milk is the perfect, natural food for your baby. Babies can easily
digest breast milk, and colostrum — the thick milk moms-to-be make
during pregnancy and just after birth — helps your baby's digestive
system grow.
Breast milk also provides unmatched health benefits for both baby and mom.
Infants who are breastfed have a reduced risk of:
Asthma
Lower respiratory infection
Certain allergies
Childhood obesity
Eczema
Ear infections
Childhood leukemia
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Gastrointestinal infections (diarrhea/vomiting)
Breastfeeding can help lower a mother’s risk of:
High blood pressure
Type 2 diabetes
Breast and ovarian cancer
Osteoporosis
Getting Off to a Good Start
Getting off to a good start with breastfeeding leads to a healthy supply
of breast milk, fewer breast problems for you and a satisfied baby. Here
are the ways our routine care for all newborns can help you successfully
breastfeed right from the start.
Skin-to-skin contact soon after birth: As soon as your full-term, healthy baby is born, he or she will be placed
skin-to-skin, belly-down, directly on your chest. Snuggling skin-to-skin
increases the release of the hormone oxytocin in the mother, which stimulates
breast milk production and helps newborns breastfeed longer. Also, placing
babies skin-to-skin after birth keeps them warm and calm, as well as stabilizing
their breathing rate, blood sugar and heart rate.
Rooming-in: All our new moms and infants room together day and night to encourage
mother-baby bonding, minimize mother-baby separation and promote early
breastfeeding for moms who wish to do so. Staying together round-the-clock
also helps you learn your baby’s feeding cues and build confidence
in caring for your baby, all under the expert guidance of our highly trained staff.
Breastfeeding consults: With the help of our nurses and board-certified lactation (breastfeeding)
consultants, many mothers who want to breastfeed are able to get off to
a good start during their hospital stay. For special concerns or struggles,
a lactation consultant will help create a plan with your health care team.
Classes to Take Before Your Baby is Born
Taking one of our breastfeeding classes while pregnant will help you and
your partner prepare and ask questions before your newborn’s arrival.
Classes cover many breastfeeding basics such as positioning, latching,
reading your baby’s hunger signals and knowing when your baby is
getting enough breast milk.
Because some challenges can occur after you go home, our board-certified
lactation consultants are available to help whenever breastfeeding issues
arise. They’re available through:
Breastfeeding consults: With the help of our nurses and board-certified lactation (breastfeeding)
consultants, many mothers who want to breastfeed are able to do so during
their hospital stay. For special concerns or struggles, a lactation consultant
will help create a plan with your health care team.
Outpatient consultations: Our board-certified lactation consultants are available for in-person or
virtual visits. The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to cover lactation
consultations with no co-pay or deductible. Contact your insurance company
for further information on their requirements. Medicaid is accepted. If
you do not have insurance, you will be billed for services. Call 303-415-7230
to make an appointment.
Phone advice: We are available by phone at 303-415-7230 seven days a week for questions
that can be answered over the phone. There is no charge for this service.
Breastfeeding support group: Taking part in our breastfeeding support group after your baby is born
gives you a chance to get your questions answered in a social setting.
Click here to view our available parenting, birthing classes and support groups.
Breast pumps and breastfeeding supplies: We have breast pumps available for rent at both short- and long-term rates,
and sell Ameda ComfortGel Pads and other breastfeeding aids. Please call
303-415-7230 for prices and availability.
Mothers' Milk Bank: Our Family Birth Center at Foothills Hospital is a drop-off location for
donor breast milk for
Mothers’ Milk Bank (MMB) – a program of Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation.
MMB is a distributor of donor human milk to medically fragile babies in
neonatal intensive care units (NICU) across the nation. MMB safely screens,
collects, processes and dispenses donated human milk as a community service,
providing human milk to babies whose own mothers cannot supply the milk
to meet their baby’s needs. The Family Birth Center at Foothills
Hospital is also a “depot” for BCH families looking to order
or buy milk for their newborn upon discharge from the Family Birth Center
at Foothills Hospital. For more information or to become a donor call
303-415-7230.
When to Call a Lactation Consultant
Our lactation consultants are registered nurses who have completed extra
training and received certification as an International Board-Certified
Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
They can be of great help with:
Nipple pain or trauma
Flat or inverted nipples
Concerns about your milk supply (too much or too little)
Engorged breasts
Latching and position problems
Concerns about baby’s weight gain
A premature baby
Breast refusal
Infant feeding poorly at the breast
Infant reflux
Adoptive breastfeeding
Re-lactation
Back-to-work plan
To make an appointment, call the Lactation Scheduling and Help Line at
303-415-7230.
Baby-Friendly: BCH Supports Breastfeeding Moms
Our
Family Birth Center at Foothills Hospital has achieved the highly prestigious international
Baby-Friendly designation, which recognizes our efforts in giving babies
a healthy start in life. The designation requires birthing facilities
to have policies that enhance mother-baby bonding and, if they choose,
provide mothers with the information, confidence and skills needed to
successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies. In order
to become Baby-Friendly, a hospital must implement the
Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
As a
Baby-Friendly designated birthing facility, the Family Birth Center at Foothills Hospital supports mothers who want
to breastfeed but also understands when breastfeeding isn’t an option.
For families who either choose to not breastfeed or are unable to breastfeed,
we teach safe and appropriate methods of preparing, storing and feeding
your baby with formula.
Download guidelines for feeding your baby formula.
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