Impact of Birthing Practices on Breastfeeding

This text examines the research and evidence connecting birth practices to breastfeeding outcomes. It takes an in-depth look at the post-birth experiences of the mother and baby, using the baby's health as the vehicle and the intact mother-baby dyad as the model to address birth practices that affect breastfeeding. The Second Edition has been completely revised to include new information on infant outcomes, including epidural anesthesia and Cesarean surgery, clinical strategies for helping the mother and baby recover from birth injuries, medications and complications, and information on Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiatives with a Mother-Friendly Module.
Impact of Birthing Practices on Breastfeeding, Second Edition examines the research and evidence connecting birth practices to breastfeeding outcomes. It takes an in-depth look at the post-birth experiences of the mother and baby, using the babys ability to breastfeed as the vehicle, the mothers lactation capacity as a factor, and the intact mother-baby dyad as the model to address birth practices that affect breastfeeding. The Second Edition has been completely revised to include new information on infant outcomes, including epidural anesthesia and Cesarean surgery, clinical strategies for helping the mother and baby recover from birth injuries, medications and complications, and information on the World Health Organizations Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative with its Mother-Friendly Childbirth Module.
Linda J. Smith, MPH, IBCLC, FACCE, FILCA is currently Adjunct Instructor in the Center for Global Health, Department of Community Health, Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University. She is also the Owner/Director of Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre in Dayton, OH. Linda's 40-year career in women's health advocacy and support began as a physical education teacher and extends into her practice as lactation consultant, childbirth educator, and public speaker. She is the author of 4 professional textbooks on birth and breastfeeding and co-author of Sweet Sleep by La Leche League International. She has lectured in 19 countries; her presentations have been translated into 12 languages including Chinese, Russian and Inuktitut. She has presented her key research areas to international health experts at the World Health Organization meetings. Linda was a founder of IBLCE, founder and past board member of ILCA, and her Lactation Consultant Exam Preparation Course is the longest-running of its kind and the first to be based on the IBLCE Exam Blueprint. Linda Smith obtained her MPH from Wright State University and her BSE from the State University of New York at Cortland in physical education. She is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE), and a La Leche League International Accredited Leader. She holds or has held leadership positions in the American Public Health Association (APHA), United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), the American Breastfeeding Institute (ABI), the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), and the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE). Linda serves as ILCA's liaison to the World Health Organization's Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and as a consultant to Baby-Friendly USA and INFACT Canada/IBFAN North America. She has been an expert reviewer on several documents published by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mary Kroeger has been a nurse-midwife for twenty-three years. In the United States, she has practiced full-scope midwifery in all settings: home, birth center and hospital. Her additional expertise in lactation management has been acquired through her midwifery practice, as a member of the clinical faculty at Wellstart International in San Diego and as senior technical staff with LINKAGES, a global breastfeeding promotion project based in Washington DC. Mary's activities and advocacy for a holistic model of maternity care spans many worlds. She maintains active membership in both the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) as well as the Midwives Association of North America (MANA) the latter whose constituency are largely homebirth-oriented care providers. She is the current Co-coordinator of the World Alliance of Breastfeeding Action (WABA) Health Care Practices Task Force and chairs the International Committee of the Coalition to Improve Maternity Services (CIMS). Since 1983, Mary has lived and worked eight years overseas in Belize, Somalia, Swaziland, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia serving as a specialist in safe motherhood, child survival and breastfeeding. She has also consulted widely for global health organizations including UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, United States Agency for International Development and Save the Children/US. This work has taken her to over twenty countries on four continents and has found her frequently a counterpart with program planners, educators and policy makers in ministries of health, with international non-governmental organizations, and with traditional village midwife groups where she has tried to bridge the gap between developing country realities and western norms and standards that are inevitably introduced with development work. In the last five years, Kroeger's work has increasingly included technical assistance to countries in the throes of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, providing guidance in reduction in transmission of HIV from mother-to-child during pregnancy, childbirth and infant feeding. Mary is a mother of three grown children, one stepson, and a granddaughter. She and her husband, Robert, live in Takoma Park, Maryland.