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St. Peter's Health offering breastfeeding course

Posted at 9:24 PM, Aug 23, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-24 00:19:41-04

HELENA — St. Pete’s Health is providing a basic breastfeeding course for new and expectant parents.

The course is free and will be two hours long, offering new mothers and fathers education on the benefits of breast milk and breastfeeding.

The course includes the physiology of lactation and how to determine successful amounts of milk.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 60 percent of mothers do not breastfeed. St. Peter’s told MTN that while they are pro-baby and pro-mother, they recognize it is a choice.

That’s why the class is there to help and educate new mothers if breastfeeding is right for them. The goal of the course is to help aid and assist new, nursing mothers and provide support during the transitional process after giving birth, which is no small feat.

Family Nurse Practitioner, Melissa Zimmerman, stated, “I just think that the biggest thing with it, is being prepared going into having a baby and breast feeding...yes, breast feeding is good--it's normal, it's instinctual, it's a choice, but if you're choosing to breast feed, there's great resources. So, the lactation nurses at the Hospital will see moms and babies for outpatient follow-up, I see babies and moms for lactation support in my clinic practice as well, and the county health department have lots of resources in town and just knowing that there are resources available to help if problems do come up.”

The class will be this coming Tues, Aug. 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and new fathers and partners of any kind are encouraged to attend the class to help support the new mom and baby.