NICU Support...

Through a grant from the HHS Office on Women’s Health, Nursing Mother's Counsel is working to establish mother-to-mother support groups in two Portland-area Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU).

These meetings will be held two times a month, and will be led by a breastfeeding peer counselor with personal experience nursing a sick or preemie baby.

The peer counselor will be trained to facilitate the thematic discussions, leaving adequate time afterwards for the group participants to meet and talk with one another. An IBCLC will additionally oversee the meetings once a month, to help with any technical questions.

We anticipate three results from these groups:

1. Breastfeeding NICU parents will have a resource for empathetic care and emotional support in addition to nursing staff;

2. These parents will have a resource for NICU-specific breastfeeding information and support; and

3. Parents will feel empowered to define personal breastfeeding goals, and to effectively communicate these goals to the hospital staff.