The British Hospital, leader in Breastfeeding

Next Wednesday the hospital will celebrate a workshop on nutrition for mothers and the benefits of breastfeeding. The British Hospital was pioneer in the personalized work with mothers, from the pregnancy up to the attention given during prenatal hospitalization and once the baby is born, as well as in the development of activities focused on the right feeding of these and their babies. The celebration of its 160 anniversary is a good reason to continue the British Hospital tour, updating its different areas, achievements and targets, in which the Breastfeeding Polyclinic stands out. The Breastfeeding Polyclinic started in December 2010, as a result of a work that had been developing since the second half of the 1990s in the Maternity area of the hospital. The continuous promotion of breastfeeding and the work focused on providing tools to facilitate the proper feeding of pregnant women and their babies, led it to receive the certification in Good Food Practices granted by the Ministry of Public Health, in recognition for the work developed in this area. Taking the World Breastfeeding Week as a trigger, next Wednesday August 16th, the British Hospital will celebrate a workshop named "Reflecting on Breastfeeding. Myths and Realities”, led by the Nursing Graduate Cecilia Riccetto and Lucía Agulla Graduate in Nutrition, with the participation of the Recreation Department. It´s about making it easier for the newborns to get the benefits that ensures them breastfeeding, and for this it´s essential to "give support" to mothers, explained the Nursing Graduate Riccetto, leader of the Breastfeeding Polyclinic. Some frequent issues are how to get the newborn to latch, how to understand the baby and strengthen the bond between mother and baby, as well as the access to breastfeeding techniques, the knowledge of different positions to breastfeed and the learning in the matter of breastpumps. The polyclinic also creates its own support contents, which are available to members, about, for example, conservation, storage and thawing of breast milk. The support for mothers even reaches their homes as after they are released from hospital they are given an exclusive telephone line at their disposal 24 hrs a day, and weekly the Breastfeeding Polyclinic receives them to provide them support and containment throughout the breastfeeding period. Riccetto also makes home visits to premature babies, in which she works with mothers on how to create the environment to breastfeed the baby, the temperature of the place, etc. "We are available for any type of doubt that you may have and we provide continuous support before and after delivery, throughout the breastfeeding period," she said. Per year, the British Hospital Maternity and the Breastfeeding Polyclinic provide attention to 250 members, they receive 2,750 calls and have a training staff of 60 nursing professionals who are at mothers and pregnant women´s disposal.