About Dr. Meier:
Dr. Meier is Director for Clinical Research and Lactation in the neonatal intensive care unit at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and is a professor of Women, Children and Family Nursing as well as a professor of Pediatrics. Dr. Meier serves as a member of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation and of the Health Advisory Council for La Leche League International. She has conducted numerous externally-funded research and demonstration projects and currently, serves as the principal investigator for a 5-year, $2.76 million, NIH-funded study, “Health Outcomes and Cost of Human Milk Feedings for Very Low Birth Weight Infants.” Dr. Meier has published over 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts.
Impact of Central Coast Breastfeeding Coalition
Central Coast Breastfeeding Coalition programs have achieved high positive impact on our San Luis Obispo County Community. SLO County is now ranked fourth in California for exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge, up five ratings from ninth place last year. Eighty-eight percent of all babies born at a hospital in SLO County were exclusively breastfed.
Sierra Vista Hospital just announced the attainment of their “Baby Friendly” Certification. With this certification, all three hospitals that provide maternity services in the San Luis Obispo County are now “Baby Friendly” certified. French Hospital Medical Center was the first to attain this certification and was quickly followed by Twin Cities Community Hospital.
The “Baby Friendly” initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. Based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, this prestigious international award recognizes birth facilities that offer breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed to initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.
Importance of Breast Milk
Breast milk is not only nourishment but is also medicine for infants. It contains antibodies, disease-fighting stem cells, anti-virus, anti-allergy, anti-parasitic, and anti-cancer properties that provide both short and long-term protection. Breast milk contains growth factors, enzymes, hormones, probiotics and other nutrients that help infants to grow and to develop optimally. Breastfeeding provides benefits to the mother with increased bonding with baby, better healing post-delivery, less incidence of postpartum depression, and decreased likelihood of developing breast or ovarian cancer.
The Center for Family Strengthening provides non-profit fiscal management services for the Central Coast Breastfeeding Coalition.
