In this week’s Covenant Children’s Report we talk to a mom who breastfed her baby and an RN/Lactation Specialist at Covenant about what is offered to both new moms as far as classes after they give birth as well as what Covenant does for their employees after they come back to work.
We talked with Stacey Spradley who had her baby in November of 2015 and as an RN thought she knew everything she needed to know about how to breastfeed her infant daughter…but after getting home realized she didn’t know anything and needed help. She says there is no way she would’ve breastfed as long as she did if it weren’t for the help of the lactation specialists at Covenant. She signed up as soon as she could after having her daughter and attended classes every month at their support group which meets the first Thursday of every month from 11am-12pm. Everyone is encouraged to bring their lunch and enjoy the topic of the month with other moms and get advice and support from other moms that breastfeed.
We also spoke with Shannon Mims-Cepcia who is a Lactation Specialist/Parent Educator/RN with Covenant says that breastfeeding is good for an infants immune system and health along with the bond it creates with mom. She says they love being able to answer questions and be there for moms who are going through the trial and error with breastfeeding. There can be challenges along the way and a babies intake changes from month to month and Shannon says being able to answer the questions and help mom work through those challenges is very rewarding. They encourage women who breastfeed to come by on Mondays to weigh their babies because a healthy baby gains weight and it helps with encouraging moms who are exhausted worried about whether their babies are getting enough to eat.
Covenant is one business that helps moms come back to work by providing Nursing Rooms for breastfeeding moms along with the time to allow moms to take a break to pump so they can still provide for their child while they are at work. They encourage other businesses to provide the same for working moms…because a happy mom is a better and happier employee.
