Lincoln Medical Center Earns Recognition for Excellence in Breastfeeding and Lactation Care
Improving maternal and child health in the Bronx by making breastfeeding a priority for 93 percent of new mothers
Mar 05, 2014
Lincoln Medical Center, part of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), has received the prestigious International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® (IBCLC®) Care Award for its dedication to breastfeeding and for excellence in lactation care. In 2013, 93 percent of women who had babies at Lincoln were breastfeeding their children by the time they left the hospital. This rate exceeds the Healthy People 2010 (75 percent) and 2020 (82 percent) goals set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“This prestigious award reaffirms Lincoln’s ongoing commitment to improve maternal and child health in the Bronx,” said Milton Nuñez, Executive Director, Lincoln Medical Center. “I commend the staff for collectively working toward this certification and for their efforts to make breastfeeding a priority in our hospital by implementing a high standard for patient care and education.”
“Studies show breastfeeding provides many health benefits to both mother and baby. Breastfed newborns are at lower risk of ear and respiratory infections, diabetes, obesity and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. For mothers, breastfeeding lowers their risk of breast and ovarian cancers, diabetes, and postpartum depression,” said Carl Kirton, DNP, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at Lincoln.
Mothers who deliver at Lincoln are supported by an environment that encourages breastfeeding to be the norm and highlights the importance of breastfeeding to mother and baby health. In addition to designated lactation rooms, new moms are able to breastfeed anywhere in the hospital, staff throughout the facility receives sensitivity training enabling them to offer support to new moms, and multilingual educational posters are placed throughout the facility to further educate and promote breastfeeding.
To remove barriers to successful breastfeeding, Lincoln staff focused on two priority areas: uninterrupted skin-to-skin (STS) care after natural and cesarean births, and prenatal education about the importance of STS care following birth.
For new moms, several multilingual educational tools were created by a team consisting of an IBCLC® certified breastfeeding coordinator, prenatal nursing staff, and WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program dieticians and breastfeeding peer counselors. Improved staff procedures were implemented to ensure STS care consistency and successes, and newborns who were previously transferred for exams immediately following birth now stay with the mother for an hour for STS care to foster mother-baby bonding. All neonatal exams and blood work are done at the mother’s bedside and STS care with fathers or significant others are encouraged to further the bonding experience.
To learn more about labor and delivery services at Lincoln Medical Center contact (718) 579-5000 or visit nychhc.org/hhc.
About Lincoln Medical Center
Lincoln Medical Center, located at 234 East 149th Street in the Bronx, is a 347-bed, Acute Care Level 1 Trauma Center with the busiest single site emergency department in the region. Winner of the 2012 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Finalist Award, the hospital emphasizes primary care and specialty medicine and uses the latest advances in medical science. Lincoln Medical Center is a member of the Generations+/Northern Manhattan Health Network, a healthcare conglomerate which is part of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC).
About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlusHealth, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, five skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychhc.org/hhc or find us onfacebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.
About International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners
IBLCE® is the independent international certification body conferring the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® (IBCLC®) credential; ILCA® is the professional association for IBCLCs and other health care professionals who care for breastfeeding families.