Phyllis Tangitu, Bridget Chiwawa and Leonie Prichard, Project Manager Lakes DHB at today's launch at Rotorua Hospital.
Phyllis Tangitu, Bridget Chiwawa and Leonie Prichard, Project Manager Lakes DHB at today's launch at Rotorua Hospital.
Lakes DHB is launching a new breastfeeding reference card to help mothers and families with new babies.
The reference cards are easy-to-read with pictures and useful information for getting breastfeeding under way and dealing with any problems that come up.
Supporting women to breastfeed is one of a number ofstrategies developed as part of a Lakes DHB project aimed at reducing rates of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI).
Breastfeeding, smokefree pregnancies and safe sleep all help to protect against SUDI, and the reference cards provide advice about all those topics and has information about where to get additional help and support when needed.
Lactation consultant Amy Wray has been instrumental in developing the breastfeeding reference cards.
Ms Wray started with Lakes District Health Board in April 2016 and helped to establish the community breastfeeding service - Kia Wana.
As part of the breastfeeding service, it was agreed information given to mothers before they left the maternity unit could be revamped, so the resource card concept was developed, tested with women and refined.
Women identified that they wanted a resource that was simple and clear, and said they generally preferred images, rather than lots of words.
The breastfeeding resource cards follow on from a range of educational 'Talk Cards' developed for midwives and other health professionals working with mothers and babies.
"Often mums can't remember everything they learnt from seeing the talk cards and would ask if they could take a copy of the cards home, so it made sense to develop a resource that provides a simple take-home summary," Ms Wray said.
"There are also lots of different leaflets that are handed out to mothers after a baby is born, which can be an overwhelming amount of information. This resource is a summary of all the important key messages for women and whanau, regarding breastfeeding, safe sleep, alcohol and smoking."
As part of the roll out of the resource across Lakes DHB, it's planned to give a breastfeeding reference card out to each mother before she leaves the birthing unit.
