Grove City Medical Center News
GCMC Awarded Breastfeeding Awareness Grant
Although the positive effects of breastfeeding for babies extend far beyond their infancy, many mothers still opt for bottle-feeding. The Pennsylvania Department of Health believes that given some education and encouragement, more new mothers will choose to breastfeed their babies. Nationally, 65 percent of babies are breastfed.
With this goal in mind, the Department of Health has awarded mini-grants to health care providers who are committed to raising awareness and dispelling misconceptions about breastfeeding among new mothers. The Maternal-Child Health Department of Grove City Medical Center was awarded a 2-year mini-grant to promote breastfeeding. In the coming year, the first installment of $3,000 will be used to create and equip a designated room within the department for breastfeeding counseling and education, according to Jan McGeehan, RN, director of Maternal-Child Health. Spearheading the procurement of the grant and the development of the program are Maternal-Child Health nurses Lynn McGahan and Wendy Semple, both of whom are certified breastfeeding counselors.
Through an informal survey of young mothers, GCMC staff learned a great deal about their perceptions on breastfeeding. While some said that they didn’t want to breastfeed because their own mothers hadn’t, others expressed a negative attitude towards breastfeeding, reflecting a national trend among younger, less educated mothers. A significant number of new mothers who try breastfeeding stop for a variety of reasons, but most often because they believe they aren’t producing enough milk for their infants.
GCMC’s educational campaign will focus on breastfeeding as both desirable and normal, with a host of physical and emotional benefits for mothers and their babies, according to McGeehan.
Next year’s $3,000 installment will fund the purchase of breast pumps to be loaned at no charge to new breastfeeding mothers.
Breastfed babies have:
- Stronger immune systems
- Less diarrhea
- Less constipation
- Few colds and ear infections
- Better vision
- Lower rates of infant mortality
- Possibly lower rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Less illness overall and less hospitalization
- Parents who have up to 6 times less absenteeism at work
Fit for Life
Breastfeeding improves IQ:
§ A clinical study shows infants breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months of life test 11 IQ points higher than formula babies.
Breastfed babies may become healthier children
§ Less allergy, eczema and asthma
§ Fewer childhood cancers
§ Lower risk of juvenile onset diabetes
§ Less Crohn’s disease, and other chronic and acute diseases
§ Lower rates of respiratory illness
§ Healthier jaw and tooth development
§ Fewer cavities
§ Less likely to become obese later in childhood
Breastfed babies may grow into healthier teens and adults
- Less likely to develop juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
- Less likely to develop heart disease in adulthood
- Lower risk of multiple sclerosis
- Lower rates of pre-and postmenopausal breast cancers
Mothers who breastfeed:
- Experience faster weight loss after birth
- Have fewer urinary tract infections
- Have less risk of breast, ovarian and uterine cancer
- Have less risk of osteoporosis