All Intermountain hospitals on the Wasatch Front receive a five-star rating for their breastfeeding friendliness
Danice Lewis, Holly Hill, Beth Hendrickson, Sam Orr, and Madison Franc, the Maternity and Baby Division of Layton Hospital, celebrate the hospital’s five-star rating from the Utah Department of Health for being a breastfeeding-friendly facility. (Intermountain Health)
SALT LAKE CITY – Layton Hospital recently partnered with other Intermountain Hospitals along the Wasatch Front that, along with the University of Utah Hospital, received a five-star rating from the Utah Health Department for breastfeeding-friendly facilities.
Utah hospitals earn this rating by completing the Department’s Stepping Up for Utah Babies program, which requires hospitals to take steps to promote, protect, educate, and promote breastfeeding in their facilities. The government health program includes 10 steps created with evidence-based maternity care practices that support breastfeeding while enhancing the care experiences for non-breastfeeding parents and families.
According to the program’s website, medical experts agree that breast milk is the best food for infants and that breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of infant morbidity and mortality. It has also been shown that breastfeeding mothers are less likely to have breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and postpartum depression.
Hospitals must have a written breastfeeding policy, train staff to assist with all dietary decisions by parents, educate parents on the benefits of breastfeeding and how to proceed, encourage skin-to-skin breastfeeding and breastfeeding as needed, no other food or drink or Pacifiers give breastfed babies unless medically necessary, enable mothers and babies to stay together 24 hours a day, and provide breastfeeding resources when families leave the hospital.
It usually takes years to implement all of these steps and earn a five-star rating, but Intermountain’s Layton Hospital has been open for less than three years and still has high marks.
“Our maternal and baby carers and the lactation team at Layton Hospital have worked tirelessly since the hospital opened to earn this award, which means our caregivers are both knowledgeable, comfortable, and provide evidence-based education and valuable tools and resources to Helping families succeed in feeding their babies, “said Danice Lewis, nurse manager for the mother-child and neonatal intensive care unit at Layton Hospital.
Other five-star intermountain hospitals include Alta View in Sandy, American Fork, Cedar City, Heber Valley, Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Logan Regional, McKay-Dee in Ogden, Orem Community , Park City, Riverton, Sanpete in Mt. Pleasant, St. George Regional and the Utah Valley in Provo. Nurses like Lewis work together, share best practices, and implement ideas to increase breastfeeding support for new mothers.
“Our caregivers provide personalized attention so that every mother can enjoy skin-to-skin contact with her baby to foster bonding, especially in the first golden hour after birth,” said Holly Hill, Nurse and Lactation Manager at Layton Hospital. “We teach mothers how to breastfeed, handpump and / or use a breast pump, provide a list of community lactation resources, and talk about what to expect when they return home.”
“When mothers go home with their babies, they often have additional questions about breastfeeding. They can schedule an appointment at Layton Hospital for a dedicated outpatient breastfeeding consultation room,” added Hill.
Outpatient breastfeeding services in the hospital are available to women regardless of where they gave birth to their baby. Breastfeeding mothers who need additional help after returning home can refer to the community’s resource list to schedule a visit to a certified lactation consultant nearby. Intermountain also offers a virtual breastfeeding class for $ 15.
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