What to Know About Baby Friendly Hospitals and Why You Want to Deliver In One
When I first became pregnant I was already well immersed into the idea of natural child birth. I’d been preparing for this for years. I knew right away I was going to deliver with a midwife, and I knew I wanted a doula. I knew I wanted limited interventions and I knew I wanted to avoid an induction. What I didn’t know was much about baby friendly hospitals and why they were so important.
At the time of the birth of my first son, Holden, my hospital was on the road to becoming baby friendly. It is a process and they have to qualify in order to be considered actually baby friendly, by meeting all of the standards set by Baby Friendly USA, so I did get all of the baby friendly benefits. By the time my second son was born (same hospital, midwife and doula) they were officially baby friendly.
There are three major hospitals in my area. Two of which are baby friendly: Conroe Regional and Memorial Hermann. Conroe regional has two certified nurse Midwives (CNM) and is where I chose to deliver. Before I end up in a rant about midwives, let me link my blog about why I wanted a midwife instead of an OB here: Why I Chose to Deliver With A Midwife In A Hospital Instead of an OB/GYN
You may be asking- “what is a baby friendly hospital?” Baby friendly hospitals implement practices that help foster breastfeeding. You may think that every hospital does that, but that is not the case. Baby friendly hospitals are great because they are going back to the basics. They are using evidence based practices to help support and encourage the breastfeeding relationship. They are creating changes in the hospital to help foster the best outcomes for baby and mom. Baby friendly hospitals guarantee these things:
1. Immediate skin to skin to foster breastfeeding and bonding.
Once your baby is born, the doctor or midwife will pull them up and place him/her directly on your chest. Placing the baby on your bare chest will calm them, help regulate breathing and their heart rate, it will jumpstart bonding and lead to breastfeeding. Nurses won’t take the baby to the side for a bath or rush him or her to the nursery. In fact, there isn’t even a nursery to go to. Mom and baby are kept together. Skin to skin is the first thing, unless there is an emergency that needs to be addressed.
Doing this for about the first hour is referred to as the “golden hour.” There are indisputable benefits for everyone when the golden hour is honored. If your hospital is not baby friendly they may pressure you to cut your golden hour short or not even begin with skin to skin. If you are wanting this experience, but aren’t sure if your hospital will respect your plans, talk to your care provider, voice your plans in your labor and delivery room prior to birth, have your support system on board to speak up if you feel like you aren’t being heard. These are also great questions to ask at your hospital tour.
2. Initiate breastfeeding within a half hour of birth
After they place your baby on your chest the nurses will encourage you to try to breastfeed, and assist with the first latch if need be. They do not offer formula or give a pacifier because that all will interfere with establishing a breastfeeding relationship. Babies don’t always need or want to latch immediately after birth. If this happens in your delivery room, don’t stress. Birth is a lot of work for babies too. Forcing a latch can be frustrating for both mom and baby, so continuing skin to skin in the postpartum room (and for days and weeks honestly) will help breastfeeding tremendously.
3. Practice rooming in
Once you are in postpartum recovery you will have postpartum nurses that are also assisting with breastfeeding. In order to establish breastfeeding you should be nursing as much as possible, and this is best achieved if the baby is sleeping in the room with Mom. They will not take the baby out of the room, unless requested by Mom. I think rooming in is best for new moms who are learning how to mother. It can be quiet scary to take a baby home for the first time, so practicing with help near by is beneficial to everyone. Baby just spent 9 months growing inside of his mom. He heard her heart beat, her breathing, her voice. He was warm and safe. Birth is eventful, and now there are weird noises, bright lights, strange sensations. Being next to mom is not only vital for survival, its biologically hardwired into our brains as infants to need to be with our mother. Rooming in just makes sense.
4. Encourage breastfeeding on demand
You will be told to chart all of your feedings and track how long they last. The nurses will monitor this and support you if help is needed. On demand feeding is the best way to establish supply, which is the foundation of a breastfeeding relationship. It may seem daunting and overwhelming, but I promise you, it gets better. You are just learning to breastfeed and baby is just learning to latch. It isn’t a one and done event. It takes time and can be hard and painful, but thats why a baby friendly hospital is the place to be… they offer that support.
You may hear that baby needs to eat for a certain amount of time every three hours. That is breastfeeding sabotage. You can’t overfeed a breastfed baby, but you can hinder your milk production by limiting breastfeeding. Throw everything you heard about time limits, schedules, breastfeeding sessions out the window. Listen to your baby, encourage them to nurse as often as possible, and pay attention to their cues.
5. Lactation Consultants will visit you
Support is crucial. A certified lactation consultant, or an IBCLC will come visit you before you go home to discuss breastfeeding and help with latching, answer questions. She will be available to you in the future as well for phone calls and to run support groups. Not all hospitals have this, but Conroe Regional does and it is free to moms who deliver there, which can’t be said for all hospitals.
6. A breastfeeding class will be required
I didn’t have to take this class after Holden, but had to after Waylon, which as a second time breastfeeding mom, I did not really need it, but I wish I would have been able to take it prior to going home with Holden. Breastfeeding Holden was so hard. I thought about quitting daily for weeks, but just as I felt like I could end it… it got better. I was determined to continue breastfeeding, so we pushed through the pain and I got help from my doula and resources like Kelly Mom, but this class and the services offered would have been incredibly beneficial to me.
7. You will get “free” breastfeeding swag
I got a bag full of breastfeeding goodies: a cooler, ice pack, information and magnets that tell you how long your milk can be a varying temperatures. One thing that isn’t included is formula samples. There is a direct correlation between the promotion of formula in hospitals and a decline in breastfeeding.
The truth is breastmilk is the best, and although formula is sometimes necessary, it is doing a disservice to provide it to mothers during the most difficult part of breastfeeding… the beginning. It is a marketing ploy and costs families thousands of dollars over the course of months where breastmilk or formula is needed. The truth is breastfeeding is often painful, like slicing your nipples with razors level painful, and if I had formula on hand I may have said, “screw this, make a bottle.” Now that I have 21+ months of breastfeeding under my belt I am so glad I didn’t quit in the toughest moment.
I am not saying formula is a bad option, because it’s not, especially when it is necessary. But we can improve our breastfeeding rates as a country if we can help new moms by offering real support and education.
If you are having troubles with breastfeeding, issues with supply, or dealing with a painful latch, please get help. Some of my favorite resources are: