Local women will have chance to donate breast milk in Springfield

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From: KY3

2-12-2013


SPRINGFIELD, Mo-- Women in southwest Missouri will soon have the chance to donate breast milk for the use of other babies. That's one of the initiatives of a new community-wide collaborative formed this month that will focus on support, advocacy and clinical consistency for breastfeeding in the Springfield region.

The Greater Ozarks Regional Breastfeeding Coalition includes physicians, nurses and lactation experts from CoxHealth, Jordan Valley Community Health Center, Mercy Springfield and the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, including the department’s Women, Infants Children (WIC) program.

“For the first time, all of the breastfeeding supporters in this community have joined together to provide a consistent message to the community,” said Cheryl Blevins, Public Health Nurse with the health department and chair of the new coalition.

The coalition's first major project is the establishment of Springfield as a Human Milk Depot site affiliated with the Heart of America Mother’s Milk Bank at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, one of just 13 such milk banks in the nation. The depot affiliation means local women, approved as donors by the Kansas City milk bank, will be able to donate their breast milk at the local depot, operated by the health department. The donated milk will be shipped to the Kansas City milk bank for pasteurization and distribution back to local hospitals. Donated milk is already being offered at both CoxHealth and Mercy hospitals.

The coalition will also sponsor breastfeeding educational programs for health care workers and offer workplace support for breastfeeding mothers through consultation and education for employers and co-workers.

“Moms were sometimes hearing different things at different places, which could lead to frustration during an already difficult time,” Blevins says. “We’re trying to ensure consistency of message and even some clinical protocols at clinics, hospitals and at WIC in order to minimize that frustration and be more supportive of mothers.”

For more information on the Greater Ozarks Regional Breastfeeding Coalition, contact: Mike Brothers, Public Health Information Administrator, (417) 874-1205; or Cheryl Blevins, BS, RNC, ANLC, Public Health Nurse, (417) 864-1496.

Ye Olde Journalist