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Breast is best, but report says Kern just can't kick the bottle
| Wednesday, Sep 3 2008 6:22 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Sep 4 2008 7:51 AM
Though mother’s milk is universally regarded as the best thing to feed babies, Kern’s having a hard time getting off the bottle, according to a new report on breast-feeding rates.
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Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
Any breast-feeding: 68.7 percent
Exclusively breast-feeding: 22 percent
Delano Regional Medical Center
Any breast-feeding: 95.3 percent Exclusively breast-feeding: 2.1 percent
Kern Medical Center
Any breast-feeding: 87.5 percent
Exclusively breast-feeding: 9.2 percent
Mercy Southwest Hospital — Kaiser Permanente patients
Any breast-feeding: 86 percent Exclusively breast-feeding: 43.2 percent
Mercy Southwest Hospital — all other patients
Any breast-feeding: 87.6 percent
Exclusively breast-feeding: 47.7 percent
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital
Any breast-feeding: 92.4 percent
Exclusively breast-feeding: 88 percent
San Joaquin Community Hospital
Any breast-feeding: 70.1 percent
Exclusively breast-feeding: 17 percent
Source: “Depends on Where You are Born: California Hospitals Must Close the Gap in Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates” by the California WIC Association and the UC Davis Human Lactation Center, using newborn screening data from the state Department of Public Health
But there is good news: Though Kern Medical Center is among the 15 lowest-scoring hospitals statewide, it’s also one of the most improved.
A study released Tuesday by the University of California-Davis Human Lactation Center and the California WIC Association evaluated rates of new mothers who breast-fed in the hospital.
Kern County ranked 46th of 50 counties with 24.4 percent of new mothers breast-feeding their children without using formula; 81.3 percent of Kern mothers used breast milk and formula.
Researchers hope hospitals adopt breast-feeding-friendly policies, such as allowing mothers to breast-feed within one hour after birth, because breast-feeding has many health benefits.
Breast-fed children tend to have fewer infections and are less likely to be obese, said Karen Farley, program manager of the Californian WIC Association, a nonprofit representing people involved with the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
“There’s something about the baby having control of feeding and all the chemicals being passed in the breast milk that helps the body regulate weight,” she said.
KMC’s patient mix and breast-feeding rates put it among the low-scoring hospitals. The county hospital saw 9.2 percent of women exclusively breast-feeding in 2007, according to state data.
But compared to 2006, KMC’s exclusive rate increased 71 percent.
“With a vaginal birth, the baby is put skin to skin with mom, and mom can breast-feed immediately if that’s her choice,” said Kathy Couch, KMC’s clinical supervisor of postpartum and newborn nursery. “You kind of have to see how the mom is feeling.”
She would like to see KMC encourage more skin-to-skin contact after birth and greater collaboration with the clinics that send patients to KMC to ensure the value of breast-feeding is being taught, she said.
But she suspects that some women are “closet breast-feeders,” who report using breast milk and formula so they can get the free WIC vouchers for formula.
“There is always this doubt among new moms that they are not going to produce enough milk,” said Angelica Vera, dietitian supervisor and certified lactation educator with Clinica Sierra Vista’s WIC program. “I don’t agree that we should give formula so easy to the moms.”
Couch has also found that some moms and some cultures are modest about breast-feeding, which is why they might shy away from it.
“Breast-feeding is natural,” Vera said. “It’s nothing that we should be ashamed of.”