Online Program

294891
New York: Breastfeeding Friendly Erie County


Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 5:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Stephanie Hisgen, RN, MPH, CLC, Bureau of Community Chronic Disease Prevention, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
New York worked with the P2 Collaborative of Western New York's Healthy Lifestyles Coalition and 13 local agencies to develop a sustainable network of community based breastfeeding services in Erie County. Erie County is a large, high need, urban county with 10,000 births annually and among the lowest breastfeeding rates in the state. The project aim was to increase exclusive breastfeeding from hospital discharge through 3 months among low income women residing in communities of color who participate in WIC and Medicaid. This initiative was designed to expand and improve breastfeeding support services by providing funding, training and technical assistance to the network of 14 organizations serving mothers, infants and young children. Project objectives focused on partnership building and coordination among the 14 organizations led by the P2 Collaborative; promoting breastfeeding friendly practices in healthcare providers' offices; enhancing the capacity of home visiting services to support early and exclusive breastfeeding; increasing the number of child care settings, community and faith-based organizations that are breastfeeding friendly; and, increasing access to places women can go for informal social support and expert breastfeeding consultation. This initiative complements ongoing breastfeeding quality improvement work in New York hospitals to increase the proportion of new mothers exclusively breastfeeding at hospital discharge.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related education
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe best practices for using community-based organizations to improve post-discharge breastfeeding support for mothers. Identify novel approaches for integrating breastfeeding support with other nutrition and physical activity programs to create healthier communities.

Keyword(s): Breastfeeding, Community Collaboration

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Breastfeeding Coordinator at the NYS Department of Health and oversee all breastfeeding initatives within the Bureau of Community Chronic Disease Prevention. This experience includes the Breastfeeding Friendly Erie County Project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.