Prairie Lakes Maternal Child Health strongly encourages all new moms to breastfeed their newborns. The focus of our staff, which includes Certified Lactation Counselors (CLC) and International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC), is to provide education and support to new moms, fathers, and support people. We offer a continuum of breastfeeding education. Our desire is to reach moms before baby is born, while in the hospital, and to continue support after discharge.
Encouragement, education, and support are all vital to breastfeeding success. We encourage you to participate in as many of our breastfeeding opportunities as possibleto help you with your decision to breastfeed. All of these opportunities are offered free of charge as a service of Prairie Lakes Healthcare System.
After Delivery
Follow-up calls are made by our lactation educators to breastfeeding moms at home within the first few weeks after delivery. Moms are encouraged to call the OB Education Office or the OB Department with any breastfeeding questions, concerns, or help.
OB Education Office: 882-7628
OB Department: 882-7735
Breastfeeding Class
This class introduces breastfeeding basics and is an overview of the elements of successful breastfeeding. It is designed for parents who plan to breastfeed and for parents who have not yet decided whether to breast or formula feed.This class is open to anyone interested in breastfeeding information and is offered the 3rd night of the Childbirth Series.
Advantages of Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding provides many advantages to both babies and mothers; including, colostrum, the first milk, which is rich in nutrients and antibodies that protect against infection and provide actual living cells as food. Breastfeeding encourages the development of immunities, significantly decreasing illnesses, allergies, asthma and other potentially serious health issues. It also reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), insulin dependent diabetes in childhood and adult obesity. It has also been found that breastfeeding increases brain and nervous system development.