Intermountain Health Outpatient Lactation Consultants Help Moms with Common Breastfeeding Challenges

August is World Breastfeeding Month.

Breastfeeding may not come as naturally to new moms as they imagine. Intermountain Health says certified lactation consultants can be key to helping new moms that want to breastfeed in the hospital. Consultants can continue to help breastfeeding after moms go home. Taking a breastfeeding class during pregnancy can help dispel the mystique.

For years clinical research has shown that breastfeeding is linked to decreased rates of lower respiratory tract infections, severe diarrhea, ear infections and childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes and asthma. Breastfeeding is associated with lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome, as well as other protective effects.

“In Utah, 92 percent of moms initiate breastfeeding according to state data from 2020, which is really good. But at six months, only 64 percent of Utah moms are breastfeeding,” said Lindee Peterson, a registered nurse and international board-certified lactation consultant at Intermountain Health St. George Regional Hospital.

“This data means there is more that Utah women’s health providers and pediatricians can do, to support and encourage moms in their desire to continue to breastfeed beyond six months of age.”

Last year the American Academy of Pediatrics updated their recommendations for breastfeeding to acknowledge the benefits of breastfeeding beyond one year.

Successful breastfeeding requires that moms understand the basics of supply and demand. When a baby wants to nurse more often and is put to the breast more often, the body responds by making more milk. Lactation consultants can help teach mom how to get their baby to latch on properly and how to increase their milk supply.

They can also help with common breastfeeding challenges, such as mastitis, which according to La Leche League, is an inflammation of the mammary gland in the breast. Mastitis can occur when an area of the milk ducts continues to be compressed, or narrowed and feels somewhat blocked. The breasts become overly full, causing swelling and inflammation and it can be painful and lead to an infection.

Symptoms of mastitis

• A hard, sore lump in your breast
• Feeling achy, tired, or run down
• Having a low-grade fever of less than 101°F
• Redness or tenderness of the affected area
• Chills

A new study by the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine done in 2022 recommends new guidelines for treating mastitis and engorgement. Engorgement can happen when a mom’s milk first comes in 2-5 days after birth or much later if one or both breasts are not emptied often enough.

Recommended treatment for mastitis or engorgement

Rest – take it easy and focus just on yourself and your baby

Ice – apply cold packs to the affected area, use gel packs or put ice in a Ziploc bag and cover with a cloth for 15 minutes once an hour.

Compression – apply light pressure on the area of the breast that is sore and all around with gentle sweeping motions from underneath the breast up toward the arm pit and to the top of the breast.

Elevation – lift the breast or lie on your back to encourage lymphatic drainage.

“Keep breastfeeding through mastitis. Pumping may not help. There is swelling in there not just milk. Changing positions of the baby can help empty the breast in a different way,” said Peterson. Over the counter pain and inflammation relievers like Tylenol or Ibuprofen may help, and with the new guidelines, antibiotics are not necessarily needed,” said Peterson.

Peterson recommends holding and positioning the baby in different ways such as:

• Cradle hold (most common way to breastfeed)
• Football or clutch hold, with baby’s feet wrapping around mom’s back
• Cross cradle hold arm around baby’s bum and base of baby’s head.
• Laid back position
• Side lying position

For recurrent mastitis, Peterson recommends moms take a supplement of soy lethicin or sunflower lecithin, 5-10 mg once per day. It helps emulsify the milk.

“I encourage moms to keep going, breastfeeding gets easier. And stopping breastfeeding can be more painful. I love empowering moms to feel like they can do this. My favorite is when a mom who has been home a couple of days and they come in, they get support and feel reassured and they say, ‘I got this.’”

For more information

For a list of local outpatient lactation consultant services, contact a nearby hospital or visit intermountainhealthcare.org

Visit intermountainhealthcare.org for a free, complete guide to breastfeeding booklet.

Go to the Intermountain Moms Facebook page for videos that answer breastfeeding questions and provide breastfeeding tips.

Intermountainhealthcare.org has a virtual breastfeeding class available for expectant parents. It’s a one session, two-hour class and offered often. Cost is $15.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.