Breastfeeding &Postpartum Care

A baby is a wonderful addition to your life, but babies don’t come with instruction manuals! After your newborn baby arrives, you may have questions about how to care for them - or questions about the way you’re feeling as a new mom or new parent.

Our labor and delivery nurses can answer your questions and help you learn more about feeding and bathing your infant. They’ll also give you crucial newborn care tips you’ll need to know.

Our nurses are also experienced in post-pregnancy care for new moms, from monitoring how you’re healing after delivery to discussing how you’re feeling emotionally.

Some of our facilities feature family-care rooms designed to help you feel more confident when bringing home an infant with special needs. If your baby will be going home with a monitor or will require other special care, you’ll have the chance to stay in a family-care room to practice with the equipment you’ll be using at home.

As a new mom, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is how to feed your baby – by breastfeeding, with formula, or with a combination of the two. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding as one of the most effective ways to ensure your child’s health.

Here are just a few of the benefits of breastfeeding:

• Breast milk is very rich in nutrients and antibodies. It can protect your baby from illness from the moment they’re born.
• Breastfeeding may decrease your risk of developing breast cancer, uterine cancer and ovarian cancer. It may also decrease the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
• Breastfeeding may help your body lose the weight you’ve gained during pregnancy more quickly.
• Breast milk helps to protect your baby from allergies, asthma, infections and illnesses. Compared to infants who are not breastfed, breastfed infants have:
  • 3 times fewer ear infections
  • 5 times fewer urinary tract infections
  • 7 times fewer allergies
  • 5 times fewer serious illnesses requiring hospitalization
  • A 9% drop in asthma risk with each month of exclusive breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding saves money and eliminates the need to purchase formula and feeding supplies, which can cost well over $1,500 a year. And since breastfed babies tend to be sick less often, health care costs are lower too.

If you’re a new mom who’s choosing to breastfeed, we want to help you get off to a great start. Our lactation consultants - available at all of our birthing centers - are board certified and can answer questions and address common concerns about breastfeeding, including:

• Nursing multiple babies
• Stimulating lactation when you’re adopting a baby
• Correct latching technique
• Breastfeeding positions
• Clogged breast milk ducts, sore nipples and other symptoms
• Checking the safety of medications while breastfeeding
• Continuing to breastfeed when you return to work
• Ideal diet during a breastfeeding regimen

And remember - lactation nurses offer support when you’re recovering from delivery, but you can also reach out to them after you’ve gone home.

Once you get home, you may get a check-in call from one of our nurses. They’ll discuss what to expect after delivery and coach you through the post-pregnancy process.

Parenthood is wonderful, but often overwhelming. Look out for signs of postpartum depression, sometimes referred to as the “baby blues,” which can include loss of appetite, insomnia, or feelings of anxiousness, guilt or intense irritability.

Post pregnancy care and treatment for postpartum depression may include medication, counseling or both, depending your symptoms and needs. Speak with your support network at home as well as your team at Aurora - we offer a number of classes to help support you and your family during this time. You can also get more information from your doctor or contact Aurora's Behavioral Health Services.

For additional resources about being a new parent, including classes, how-to guides and recommended reading, see our Childbirth, Parenting & Family Resources.

Choose the birthing center nearest you to find a lactation or postpartum specialist today: