Madison Birth Center Offers Educational Opportunities
Nurses working in Pediatrics, Family Practice, Public Health, Lactation Support, Midwifery, Labor and Delivery and Postpartum know the importance of nurturing and supporting families. Offering breastfeeding support, educating about childhood immunizations, and identifying postpartum depression are just a few of our tasks. Because of our holistic approach to health care and our unique relationships with clients, nurses are often at the forefront of identifying problems, doing basic education and making referrals to other providers. Many of us feel like we wear nursing and social work hats for most of our workday. Parents new and old need a sense of community to succeed, and nursing plays an important role in creating connections between people. Part of the mission of the Madison Birth Center is the support of parents and the creation of community. Toward this goal, we are sponsoring our second annual conference called "Exploring Possibilities in Parenting." This conference will be held on Saturday, Sept.18 at the Marriot Madison West. We are pleased to welcome several nationally acclaimed speakers who will lead workshops and address topics of interest to families. This exciting day-long event will include supervised activities for children and half-day registration options.
Speaker highlights include:
o Dr. Robert Sears, Co-author of The Updated Baby Book and regular contributor to AskDrSears.com
o Ariel Gore, Author and Editor-Publisher of Hip Mama: The Parenting Zine
o Aviva Jill Romm, Author and president of the American Herbalists Guild
o Bob Wright, Co-founder of The Wright Institute for Lifelong Learning
o Julia Jergensen Edelman, "Slices of Motherhood," syndicated columnist
Registration is available on our Web site at www.madisonbirthcenter.com.
If you are willing to hang posters, or distribute brochure/registration forms and would like some for your clinic or office, please call The Madison Birth Center at
608-821-0123. We greatly appreciate any help with getting the word out to families.
Nurses Trained In Breastfeeding Enhance Public Health
The support of breastfeeding is critical to the health of children. Research shows that breastfed babies have three times fewer ear infections, five times fewer urinary tract infections, less cancer and fewer allergies than formula-fed babies. Adults who have been breastfed have a lowered risk of heart attack and stroke due to lower cholesterol levels, less diabetes and fewer skin and digestive problems. Breastfeeding is also protective for women, since it lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancer and osteoporosis. This simple "intervention" has the potential for huge economic impact when extrapolated to national levels. It has been conservatively estimated that if every baby were breastfed, national cost savings would be $4.18 billion per year. Sadly, the breastfeeding rate in Wisconsin is about 21 percent for babies six months of age. This is less than half the Healthy People 2010 goal of 50 percent for babies six months old.
In our support of breastfeeding, The Madison Birth Center is sponsoring a 40-hour lactation course through The Center for Breastfeeding. The course will be held in Madison, November 15-19. A counseling approach will be emphasized - including teaching the skills needed to recognize underlying problems and how to develop a plan that takes the needs of the client into consideration - rather than a cookbook approach. Madison Birth Center staff have attended this course, and it is highly recommended. The course includes a certification exam that allows you to use the title Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC). To register, contact The Center for Breastfeeding at 508-888-8044 or www.healthychildren.ccn
