Apr 25, 2012 •
Written by jennifer.salah • no comments
Lyla Grace, born seven weeks early
Join us as we walk for stronger, healthier babies during the 2012 First Coast March for Babies! This year we are walking for a special baby — Lyla Grace!
The birthday girl -- Lyla Grace turned one on March 30
March for Babies – the March of Dimes’ biggest fundraiser nationwide – will be held Saturday, May 5th at 9:00 a.m. at the Northbank Riverwalk in Downtown Jacksonville. Healthy Start would like to invite YOU to join our team and make a difference in the lives of Northeast Florida’s babies!
To join our team and register as a walker, visit Healthy Start’s team page and click the “Join this Team” icon. Friends and family are welcome to join, so spread the word!
Lyla Grace was born at 33 weeks on March 30, 2011 to Meredith (Chartrand), a member of the Healthy Start Board of Directors, and Mark Frisch. Her photo will be posted on “Celebration Avenue,” a new feature at the walk that will showcase success stories. Only 4lbs, 14 oz at birth, Lyla recently celebrated her first birthday!
If you are unable to walk with us, please consider donating to our team and encouraging others to donate. The March of Dimes supports many of the Coalition’s community-based programs such as the Camellia project, funds the statewide 39 Weeks initiative, and provides other support and educational materials to the Coalition.
To learn more about March for Babies, watch the 2012 video.
Apr 23, 2012 •
Written by Erin Petrie • no comments
The Florida Breastfeeding Coalition announced this week a new Hospital Initiative Project, aimed at helping hospitals take “Baby Steps to Baby Friendly Hospital.”
The statewide Coalition created a “Florida Quest For Quality Maternity Care Award” based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and Baby Friendly USA 4-D Pathway. The Coalition supports the Ten Steps of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (created by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF), and encourages Florida hospitals to implement as many of the steps as possible.
The project includes a webinar series targeted at hospital administrators, maternity/baby nurse managers, women’s service managers, quality improvement managers and anyone else interested in implemented the steps to Baby Friendly Hospital status.
The webinars cover the following: Learn How to Improve mPINC Scores, Comply with The Joint Commission’s Maternity Care and Infant Feeding Core Measures and Take Steps to Becoming a Baby Friendly Hospital.
April 3, Tuesday, 2-3 PM – From Bottles to Breast Milk to Baby-Friendly: The Boston Medical Center Experience – Speaker Bobbi Philipp, MD
May 8, Tuesday, 1-2 PM – Quality Improvement in Maternity and Infant Care: The Ten Steps, mPINC, and The Joint Commission Core Measures—SpeakerJoan Meek, MD
June 12, Tuesday, 1-2 PM – Implementation and Baby Steps to becoming Baby-Friendly Hospital—Speaker-Heidi Agostinho, PhD., IBCLC
July 10, Tuesday, 1-2 PM – Resources to Help Your Hospital through the Process and Steps to becoming a Baby-Friendly Hospital—Speaker TBA
Limited space is available. Hospitals with multiple staff interested are advised to have one person register and plan to view together.
To request a GoToWebinar INVITATION to REGISTER for the webinars, contact office@flbreastfeeding.org.
Apr 19, 2012 •
Written by Erin Petrie • no comments
The Camellia Project and the positive outcomes of the pilot project for mothers with babies in the NICU were highlighted at the April 2012 Coalition meeting.
Representatives from UNF’s Northeast Florida Center for Community Initiatives (CCI) presented the Year 2 impact report:
Please visit the Camellia Project page to find CCI’s full presentation under publications.
Apr 17, 2012 •
Written by Erin Petrie • no comments
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to ensure their infants are immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases during an annual awareness week, April 21 to 28. Since 1994, National Infant Immunization Week has served as a way to highlight both the importance of vaccines and the achievements of immunization programs.
This year the week also marks the first World Immunization Week, held in conjunction with the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA).
Vaccines protect infants and toddlers from 14 diseases, saving $13.6 billion in direct costs and preventing 42,000 deaths per birth cohort immunized according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Immunization rates remain high in the United States, however proponents point to recent outbreaks of pertussis (whooping cough) and measles to underscored the importance of continued support of vaccination programs.
Apr 9, 2012 •
Written by jennifer.salah • no comments
According to a new study by the National Institute of Health, women are spending more time in labor that they did 50 years ago.
After comparing almost 40,000 births from 1959-1966 to almost 100,000 births from 2002-2008, researchers found that labor was, on average, about 2.6 hours longer for first-time who had given birth in recent years. For women who had previously given birth, labor lasted about two hours longer.
Women from the contemporary group were about four years older than those from the 1960s group and also had a higher body mass index than the earlier cohort of delivering mothers. Babies from the contemporary group were born an average of five days earlier than those born in the 1960s, but were slightly bigger and healthier at birth.
Though these factors may have influenced the increase in delivery times in recent births, the researchers concluded that much of the change is likely due to changes in obstetric practices.
Medical intervention during delivery was much more common among women giving birth in the 2002-2008 group. Only four percent of women delivering in the earlier cohort received epidural anesthesia, compared with 55 percent in the contemporary group. About 12 percent of women in the first group received oxytocin to induce labor, compared with 31 percent in the contemporary cohort. The study also found the rate of cesarean delivery was four times higher today than it was 50 years ago. Oxyctocin, which is commonly used to induce labor and speed up the birthing process, may not always work and can thus lead to unplanned cesarean births.
These findings mirror recent concerns that more and more deliveries are being electively induced prior to 39 weeks of completed gestation. Research shows that babies born prior to 39 weeks are at greater risk for both immediate and lasting health problems. The Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative is working to eliminate elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks of completed pregnancy in Florida by placing hard stops in Florida hospitals to prevent the scheduling of deliveries prior to 39 weeks without a medical reason, including the standardization of oxytocin usage protocols.
For more information on the 39 Weeks initiative and the Coalition’s parallel consumer education campaign, funded by the March of Dimes Florida Chapter, visit the 39 weeks project website.
