We at Metropolitan Breastfeeding have great news to share: We’ve been selected to be a part of the 2016 Best of Bethesda Awards! Every year the Best of Bethesda selects Bethesda businesses as nominees for their award, and we are honored to have been nominated and won! We won in the category “Home Health Care Service,” and we couldn’t be more proud!

Thank you to all of our supporters for speaking so well of us around town. We appreciate all of those that we served in the Bethesda and D.C. area. Our consultants and staff thank you all for the kind words and sentiments.

We hope to be around for more years to come! (We hope to get another award or two, but whose counting?)

Below is the press release from the Bethesda Award Program. Let us know what you think about us winning on Facebook! Also, don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest to check out our amazing breastfeeding boards!


Press Release
Metropolitan Breastfeeding, LLC receives 2016 Best of Bethesda Award. 

Bethesda Award Program Honors the Achievement

BETHESDA May 18, 2016 — Metropolitan Breastfeeding, LLC has been selected for the 2016 Best of Bethesda Award in the Home Health Care Service category by the Bethesda Award Program.

Each year, the Bethesda Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Bethesda area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2016 Bethesda Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Bethesda Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Bethesda Award Program
The Bethesda Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Bethesda area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Bethesda Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Bethesda Award Program

CONTACT:

​Bethesda Award Program
Email: PublicRelations@awardconnections.org
URL: http://www.awardconnections.org

Introducing Newborn to their Siblings

​Introducing your newborn to their siblings can be an exciting time, but also ushers in a new family dynamic.
Metropolitan Doulas has some great tips for how to make this transition a smooth one:

• In the months leading up to the birth, introduce books or stories about bringing home new babies — there are many to choose from.  Depending on your older child’s age, she may appreciate hearing stories from your childhood about new brothers or sisters.
• Some children enjoy having a new doll or lovie to take care of as you care for the newborn.  Having the new doll in advance of the birth can let you model behavior so the older sibling knows what to expect.
• Create special tasks that are just for the older sibling to help with newborn care. He can bring you a fresh diaper from the drawer or be in charge of a special burp cloth. Some older children can even help with bottle feedings.
• Conversely, some children find being a helper is a downgrade– they would rather be on the same level as the baby, not the parent! In that case, let the older sibling pretend to be a baby– just for a while. She will soon see it’s not as much fun as being a big kid.
• Expect some behavioral regressions from your older children. If he has recently potty-trained, you may see more frequent accidents. He may be interested in breastfeeding, or even ask to try it out. As the family transitions to having the new baby, there regressions will fade out.
• Try spending some alone time with each of your children every day. Especially in the beginning, this alone time can be an important way to maintain your connection with all your children and to let them see that each child is equally important to you.
• When your older child needs your attention, tell the infant out loud “It’s your brother’s turn now.” Hearing you tell the baby to wait can make it easier for the older sibling to be patients when it’s his turn to wait.

We love all of these tips and suggestions!  Hiring a doula can also be a great way to ease the transition as you expand your family.  Check out Metropolitan Doulas and their services if you think a doula could assist you!

​A great blog post, shared with permission from Ursula Sukinik of Birth You Desire:

Using your BRAIN

When life comes at you full force and presents you with a change in course,  it is important to know what options are available to you.  Informed consent is the only way to make an educated decision or choice. Informed decision means you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each option available. This understanding is critical to any decision but especially when considering your health options.

So how do you know what questions to ask? How do you ask them and then understanding the answers is how you get informed. It can appear scary and confusing and even overwhelming especially in times of need, pain or fear.

How do you know what questions to ask in order to move forward? Can you remember them all in a crisis?  How can your remember what to ask? In childbirth education there is an acronym to help client’s to better understand their choices. This acronym is highly valuable in all aspects of life and not just birth. It is BRAIN.

BRAIN stands for:

B: What are the benefits of the drug, procedure or option being presented?

R: Are they any risks of the drug, procedure or option?

A: Are there any alternatives?

I: What does my intuition or instinct tell me? Why?

N: What if we do nothing?

Once you have asked your questions and have received the requested information and clarification on subsequent questions,  ask for some time alone to review the answers and work through your choices.  If you have additional questions ask them from your provider.  Again reflect on the answers and choose a course of action that is right for you.

By using your BRAIN you can move forward with knowledge and peace that you are making the right choice for you and your situation. Use your BRAIN early and often in times of need and throughout the rest of your  life so that you can advocate for yourself and your family.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE29 April 2016 

Sara Blair Lake, Executive Director, J.D., CAE
International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners
+1 703.560.7330
slake@iblce.org

METROPOLITAN BREASTFEEDING is honored for Lactation Care Services.The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) and International Lactation Consultant Association® (ILCA®) have recognized METROPOLITAN BREASTFEEDING for excellence in lactation care.

METROPOLITAN BREASTFEEDING has received the IBCLC Care Award in recognition for staffing professionals who hold the prestigious International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® certification (IBCLC®) and providing a lactation program for breastfeeding families. In addition, the facility demonstrated that is has recently completed activities that help protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.

According to Decalie Brown, President of ILCA, “This recognition highlights the efforts being made by maternity facilities all across the world to help mothers get off to a good start with breastfeeding, and to support them in reaching their goals. IBCLC is the leading internationally recognized lactation certification in the world, and IBCLC certificants are highly skilled in helping mothers with the questions and concerns that can arise. They are also an important part of the overall maternal and child health team by assuring that evidence-based policies and practices are in place that help mothers succeed with breastfeeding.”

International Board Certified Lactation Consultants focus on preventive care, so they are available during pregnancy to assess the mother and provide information on how to successfully initiate breastfeeding. They continue that assistance after the baby is born by helping mothers overcome breastfeeding challenges, providing accurate information, and continuing to support them as their baby grows. They assist mothers returning to work or school, help mothers in more unusual situations such as breastfeeding more than one baby or nursing a sick or premature infant, and help train nursing staff to manage basic breastfeeding care.

As allied health care professionals with the leading internationally recognized certification for professional lactation services, IBCLC professionals work in hospitals and birthing centers, clinics, public health agencies, private practice, community settings, government agencies, and in research. There are currently more than 28,100 IBCLCs in 102 countries worldwide that are certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (www.iblce.org), a program independently accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). NCCA accreditation represents a mark of quality for certification programs.

Brown says that “Breastfeeding rates are on the rise today and with that dramatic increase, the need for trained professionals who can help also increases. Breastfeeding is natural and often works quite well without intervention. But there can be complications or risk factors and mothers need extra support. An IBCLC is the trained expert with clinical skill who works with the entire health care team so that a mother’s breastfeeding goals can be met.”

In addition to finding IBCLC professionals at METROPOLITAN BREASTFEEDING, mothers can also find an IBCLC near them by visiting www.ilca.org. Follow the “Find a Lactation Consultant” link and search for an IBCLC by postal code, city and state, or country.

For more information about the IBCLC Care Award program, contact IBLCE at award@iblce.org.

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