The county's other two hospitals had much lower exclusive breastfeeding rates; one was 27.9%, the other was 38.5%.
Changing Policies and Procedures
Much of Tulare Regional Medical Center's increased rate is due to an overhaul in policies and procedures, said McCowan.
The hospital started by sending its obstetrics and gynecology team to a breastfeeding seminar called Birth and Beyond California. Once the medical staff all had the same training, they could offer uniform advice to mothers.
Previously, said McCowan, a nurse or a doctor might speak from personal experience instead of objectively offering information on breastfeeding. "Now we all get the same education and we all educate in the same way," she said.
A quality assurance team also looked at hospital policies to see which ones needed to be changed or updated to better promote breastfeeding.
For instance, nurses no longer give out pacifiers or offer a bottle to a baby just because the mother wants to rest or take a nap. "That's not the right reason to give a bottle," said McCowan. Pacifiers aren't handed out because "you don't want new babies sucking on something artificial. Any baby awake enough to be sucking needs to be nursing."
One thing hospital staff members have learned, said McCowan, is "if you give mothers the right information, they will make the right choice."
Another policy change was the establishment of skin-to-skin bonding during what is called the "golden hour."
"The first hour after a baby is born, we let the family in to say hello, then have them leave and put the baby on the mother skin-to-skin so they have that attachment and bonding that's so important," said McCowan. She said most infants, if allowed, will breastfeed on their own in an hour or two.
The Affordable Care Act also supports breastfeeding mothers. As of Aug. 1, new or renewing health insurance plans now must cover certain preventive services, including breastfeeding counseling, for women at no out-of-pocket cost.
The Tulare program already has two full-time lactation nurses on staff, a strong ratio for a smaller regional hospital delivering approximately 100 infants a month.
Partnerships
The hospital also partnered with First 5 Tulare County, a group focused on children's health, to increase its breastfeeding rates. The Tulare County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program worked with Tulare Regional to help women continue to breastfeed after leaving the hospital.
"Tulare Regional Medical Center has made amazing progress," said Linda Sward, a breastfeeding/nutrition education coordinator with Tulare WIC who also is the Tulare County Breastfeeding Coalition chairperson.
Sward said the medical center's program is effective because of the major policy shifts that took place to promote breastfeeding as well as the number of people, including the two lactation consultants, trained to assist in breastfeeding. "They really help the mothers. There are people with real skills there six days a week," she said. "It really, really has come a long way."
In January 2011, the California Women, Infants and Children Association recognized Tulare Regional Medical Center as a leader in promoting and improving breastfeeding rates in the state of California.
