Protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding in Penticton

Health Canada and Interior Health recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. It’s recommended that nursing continues for two years or more, with the addition of a variety of age-appropriate food starting about six months of age.

While 97 per cent of Penticton babies start out breastfeeding, many families find that they encounter obstacles along the way that make it harder: caesarean birth, lack of skilled breastfeeding support in the hospital and community, unnecessary supplementation, and misinformation from the media, friends, family and even health-care providers. All can contribute to switching to formula feeding, introducing solid foods or weaning too early.

BFI ensures all health-care providers have the education and resources they need to support families in overcoming these challenges and obstacles.

While the focus of BFI is on breastfeeding, the goal of the program is to support a family’s choice, and to give them the information and support they need to make a decision on how to feed their baby that’s best for their situation. “It’s family-centred and person-centered,” says Meggie. “Although many strategies in BFI apply to those who breastfeed, the program ensures all families are offered the best care possible no matter how they are feeding their baby.”

A key BFI practice is immediate and continuous skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby, whether the birth was vaginal or by caesarean section. In the past, newborns were often taken away to be assessed and swaddled, then brought back to the mother.

Science shows that babies are more stable if they recover from birth while skin-to-skin, and breastfeeding gets off to a better start. If a baby can’t breastfeed in the first hours for some reason, hand expression of colostrum is encouraged.

Mothers and babies aren’t separated for any reason other than a medical one. Even for a caesarean birth, mother and baby are kept skin-to-skin in the operating room, are brought to the recovery room together, and then room together continuously.

Partners and their primary support person also stay together with them which makes it a family-centered experience. The mother and the family are very much involved with the care of their baby, even during medical procedures such as phototherapy, which is used to treat newborn jaundice.

Says Maternity Unit nurse Grace Logel, RN, “The Baby-Friendly Initiative has been an important practice used on our floor. It creates a positive environment that allows patients to remain with their newborns, and staff to help support and enable bonding practices like breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact.”

She adds, “This initiative has helped our floor increase the quality of care that we provide families during this new time in their lives.”

Babies who have low blood sugar or who lose too much weight are often supplemented. In the past, the default was to supplement with formula. BFI training and skills help health-care providers understand when babies need additional supplementation.

Supplementing with a mother’s breast milk is the priority, followed by pasteurized donor milk. When babies are given formula, for whatever reason, families are shown how to do so in a way that best meets their baby’s needs.

As part of the BFI project, Penticton Regional Hospital is preparing to receive and store pasteurized donor human milk from the BC Women’s Provincial Milk Bank in Penticton.

During the first few days, weeks and months of life, blood tests and vaccines are a routine part of a baby’s care. Research has shown that babies held skin-to-skin or are breastfeeding feel more comfort and experience less pain.

This approach required retraining of health-care professionals responsible for blood tests and immunizations so these comfort strategies could be offered routinely to all babies.

“This was a wonderful part of the BFI project,” says Meggie. “To improve our care during immunizations, we engaged UBC Okanagan nursing practicum students to help increase staff and family awareness of the importance of offering these comfort strategies. They created posters and teaching tools to help inform families and staff. Now this information will be spread across all of Interior Health.”

BFI has meant training health-care providers to support breastfeeding beyond the hospital to ensure families are able to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible. Public health nurses like Dawna Erland play a key role in supporting families and their choices once they are discharged from the hospital.

Says Dawna, “It’s easy to assume BFI means you’re just supporting families that are only breastfeeding. BFI means we are giving all the information to all the families. It feels like we are supporting them all more. It’s more inclusive.”

Parents who are at either facility as patients or visitors can be assured that breastfeeding and pumping are welcome anytime, anywhere. If a quieter, private space is desired, lactation rooms are available at both locations.

Interior Health staff are also supported to continue breastfeeding upon return from a maternity leave by having a flexible break schedule, a private space to pump, and a place to refrigerate their pumped milk. They can even arrange to have their baby brought in to them to feed.

This Penticton pilot project is helping inform a larger effort to improve infant feeding care across Interior Health. “While there are examples of exemplary care being given across IH, the goal is to standardize our best practices so that all families in our region benefit from baby-friendly quality care,” says Meggie.

To learn more about the Baby-Friendly Initiative, and what it means for families, watch this video produced by BFI Strategy for Ontario.