SALISBURY — Novant Health Rowan Medical Center will host a free breastfeeding fair and happy hour next week.
Set for 5 to 7 p.m. Monday in the hospital’s Lamaze Room, the event is part of Rowan Medical Center’s program to recognize World Breastfeeding Month.
The event, which is geared toward new and expectant mothers, will feature information on breastfeeding, including why it’s beneficial to both mothers and babies, how new moms can continue breastfeeding while returning to work or school and how to address common breastfeeding issues. There will also be free children’s book giveaways from Smart Start, and massage therapists and reflexologists will be offering mini massages.
Mothers will also be able to meet Yolanda Butler, one of the hospital’s newest breastfeeding resources. A breastfeeding peer counselor with the Rowan County Health Department, Butler helps women enrolled in or eligible for the federal Women, Infants, and Children Special Supplemental Nutrition Program to be successful at breastfeeding.
“Latching, positioning, pumping, whatever you can think of that can be a barrier for successful breastfeeding, I can help with,” says Butler, who breastfed each of her three children until they were at least 1 year old. “It’s especially reassuring for moms to be able to work with someone who has had the same experiences they’ve had. The challenges they’re facing, I can offer recommendations about because I’ve been in their shoes.”
Butler works closely with Connie Hoffner, a clinical educator and board-certified lactation consultant at Rowan Medical Center, to support breastfeeding mothers and partners. While Hoffner and the hospital’s labor and delivery nurses are trained to support breastfeeding in the hospital, Butler is able to visit new moms at home after discharge to address new issues and I can even see mothers at home after discharge.
“By working together, we are making it easier for moms who want to breastfeed or pump to be successful,” Hoffner says.