Lee Health Participates in World Breastfeeding Week with Free Breastfeeding Classes for the Month of August

Lee Health is committed to ensuring a healthy community for all, especially new and expecting mothers. In August, to support World Breastfeeding Week, which begins on August 1, the health system is offering free classes throughout the month to encourage and support every mother.

Classes are scheduled throughout the month at various locations in both English and Spanish. Attendees will gain valuable support and advice from experienced lactation consultants, connect with fellow mothers, and gain peer-to-peer support via lactation consultant assistance.

Education on lactation services is offered to expecting mothers at 32 weeks gestation during their prenatal appointments. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life with continued breastfeeding for two years or more. While most families initiate breastfeeding, two-thirds of families who initiate breastfeeding don’t achieve the recommended breastfeeding duration or intensity. Lack of access to breastfeeding support is one of the primary barriers to achieving these recommendations.

The 2024 World Breastfeeding Week theme is “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All.” The theme highlights the need to provide a robust support system for breastfeeding parents. Lee Health offers several ways for the community to access lactation services via in-house inpatient lactation services, outpatient visits and counseling phone calls with Women’s Services at HealthPark Medical Center, Cape Coral Hospital, and Golisano Children’s Hospital. If a consult is needed, Lee Health’s Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) are also available to provide services at Gulf Coast Medical Center and Lee Memorial Hospital.

“It’s important to ensure that everyone in the Southwest Florida community has access to breastfeeding education and support. There are numerous benefits for both mother and baby,” said Joyce Arand, System Director of Women’s Services. “While breastfeeding is a natural process, it is not always easy and we want to make sure every mother feels comfortable, supported and knows how to access the resources they need to ensure optimal health for themselves and their child.”

Lee Health has also partnered with Nest Collaborative, the nation’s first and largest lactation consultation platform, to provide new parents with greater access to Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) who provide high-quality, evidence-based, culturally competent, multilingual, and family-centered online video-enabled appointments to help guide and support parents through their breastfeeding journey in the comfort of their own homes at their convenience.

Lee Health is committed to increasing access to care for our community and optimal health for all. Both Cape Coral Hospital and HealthPark Medical Center were re-designated last year as Baby-Friendly Hospitals.

The five-year designation comes from Baby-Friendly USA Inc. and is given to facilities that have implemented the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and are compliant with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The U.S. guidelines and evaluation criteria are based on the global criteria for the WHO/United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

For more information on breastfeeding, support groups and lactation services, please visit https://www.leehealth.org/our-services/women-s-health/breastfeeding-support.

Free breastfeeding classes are throughout the month. The schedule includes the following:

August 6 from 10 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. at Healthpark Medical Center

August 6 from 6 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. at Cape Coral Hospital

August 14 from 4 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. at Healthpark Medical Center

August 17 from 10 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. at Healthpark Medical Center

August 21 from 6 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. at Healthpark Medical Center

August 29 from 10 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. at Healthpark Medical Center (in Spanish)

Ten spots are available for each class. You can sign up here: https://www-154p.bookeo.com/bookeo/b_leememorial_start.html?ctlsrc2=zLu0BBgtn%2FmBW42%2Fg6zUfha2uvWe25KNlvXAiVnBmjs%3D&src=03r&type=31546MAT4X14A78B25049