Medical Breakthroughs: Acadiana Breastfeeding Coalition educating the community
OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY)- August is National Breastfeeding Month.
According to the CDC, only about one in four infants are exclusively breastfed by the time they are six months old as recommended by doctors, which officials say contributes to overall higher medical bills.
News 10 spoke to several Acadiana women who are doing their part to educate the community.
Hollie Domingue is a mom of three who has breastfed all three of her children.
“None of my kids have ever had bottles. So moms that need support, encouragement and just being enough for their baby, I feel like I can be a peer to them,” said Domingue.
Domingue is the chair of the Acadiana Breastfeeding Coalition, a non-profit organization aimed at providing education and resources for moms across region.
“I didn’t have support. No one in my family had ever breastfeed. I feel like I want to be that help for moms and give them those resources and get that information out to them,” Domingue said.
According to the CDC, infants who are breastfed have reduced risks of asthma, obesity and sudden infant death syndrome.
Nurse Vickie Couvillion and lactation consultant Lauren David say Opelousas General Health is going one step further to help moms breastfeed, by getting the family involved.
“We’re including the whole family. they’re in for the delivery, they’re in for the breastfeeding and it’s a family event,” Couvillion said.
“It’s important for mom to have her whole circle and revive the information that she has, including the baby’s grandmothers, the baby’s dad and also know where to plug in to the community so she knows where she can get help when she goes home,” Couvillion said.
Domingue says she sees more younger moms breastfeed nowadays, a credit she attributes to social media.
“The first thing a mom is going to do when she needs help these days, millennial moms, she’s going to type in Facebook or google search and say latching problems,” Domingue said. “We want Acadiana breastfeeding coalition to come up so they can say oh here are some resources.”
This week is also Black Breastfeeding Week to highlight the importance of more minority women breastfeeding their babies.
According to research, African-American infants are 15 percent less likely to be breastfed.