Photo By Alpha Kamara | Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) Chief of Staff Navy Capt. (Dr.)...... read more read more
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By Alpha Kamara
Office of Command Communications
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s (WRNMMC) Chief of Staff Navy Capt. (Dr.) Kelly Elmore applauded women who breastfeed their babies, and shared her own story as a military breastfeeding mother, during an event observing National Breastfeeding Month held Aug. 18.
“Breast/chestfeeding in uniform motivated me to continue promoting the significance of breastfeeding everywhere I go,” said Elmore, who served as guest speaker for the first-of-its-kind event at WRNMMC and hosted by the Mother and Infant Care Center (MICC) lactation team at the medical center. Elmore is a board-certified OB-GYN.
She explained there are benefits of breastfeeding, including decreasing the risk of certain diseases in mothers and their babies.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), babies who are breastfed are healthier and build better immunity from communicable diseases than those infants who are not breastfed. Breastfeeding is also the biological norm and should be supported by the community at large, WHO and UNICEF officials add.
“Mothers are highly encouraged to breastfeed their babies, if their health condition permits. This increases bonding between mothers and their babies,” said Elmore.
The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee officially declared August as National Breastfeeding Month in 2011, and WRNMMC's support of breastfeeding was key to its designation as a Baby-Friendly Hospital more than five years ago. This made WRNMMC one of only a few facilities in the National Capital Region to earn the designation.
In April 2017, Baby-Friendly USA, Inc., the U.S. authority for implementing of the Baby-Friendly Hospital initiative, designated WRNMMC as a Baby-Friendly Hospital. The Baby-Friendly Hospital initiative is a global program sponsored by WHO and UNICEF,
“This means we have an obligation to support and promote breast/chestfeeding and its benefits to families,” said Elmore.
Currently, there are only three military treatment facilities (MTF) in the country that have earned the Baby-Friendly Hospital designation -- Fort Belvoir Community Hospital (Virginia), Naval Hospital Jacksonville (Florida), and WRNMMC.
“Every newborn has three key demands -- the demand for love, the demand for food, and the demand for security. Breastfeeding cuts across all three of them,” said Elmore. “That’s why we will continue to use every opportunity to support breastfeeding within and outside the workplace.”
“All women who breastfeed your babies, you have WRNMMC’s full support and admiration," Elmore continued. “In my own case, I breastfed my baby for 14 months during a very difficult situation and survived. Now, I am proud to say, my child is a loving, healthy, happy young man."
WRNMMC hosted the program in conjunction with similar events held at Fort Belvoir and Naval Hospital Jacksonville. The MTFs connected virtually, and mothers located at the three facilities latched their babies simultaneously in support of breastfeeding.
Jennifer Vasquez-Robles, one of two working mothers who breastfed their babies during the WRNMMC event, shared her thoughts on the importance of breastfeeding. She echoed the sentiments of Elmore, stressing that breastfeeding strengthens the bond between babies and their mothers. Vasquez-Robles also shared her appreciation for WRNMMC and the community for their continued support for breastfeeding for all mothers who want to do it.
WHO and UNICEF recommend women initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, and babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, which means the baby receives no other foods or liquids, including water. Infants should be breastfed on demand, or as often as the child wants, day and night.
For more information about breastfeeding, visit the WRNMMC lactation team on https://wrnmmc.libguides.com/lactation
| Date Taken: | 09.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.01.2022 15:16 |
| Story ID: | 428519 |
| Location: | BETHESDA, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 105 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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