June 1, 2020

Texas Children’s is always looking for ways to improve the experience of our patients, families and employees during their time with our organization. We are especially sensitive to our breastfeeding moms and tube feeding parents.

To better support these groups, Texas Children’s has purchased a Mamava, which is a self-contained, mobile pod with benches, a fold-down table, an electrical outlet for plugging in a breast pump, and a door that can be locked for privacy. The 4-foot by 8-foot suite is meant for individual use, but can fit more than one person, as well as mothers with babies and other children in tow.

Named the “Baby Bistro Suite” in honor of our ongoing commitment to breastfeeding moms provided at the Baby Bistro, the pod was recently installed on the fifth floor of Wallace Tower and is now open for use. To use the pod, a visitor or employee will reserve their time using the Mamava app or request a keypad-code from guest services. Information about the suite will also be added to wayfinding signage.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer our breastfeeding moms and tube feeding parents such a comfortable, clean, distraction-free space to nourish their children,” said Nancy Hurst, director of Women’s Support Services. “I also am proud of Texas Children’s for its continued commitment and dedication to the overall well-being of these patients, family members and employees.”

Texas Children’s is the first hospital in Texas to unveil a Mamava suite at one of its facilities. Employees from several departments including, Infection Control, Facilities, Supply Chain, Contracts, Surgery, Patient Experience, Marketing and Women’s Services came together to make it happen.

The effort began more than a year ago after Patient Experience conducted some employee focus groups about ways we could improve our overall patient experience. One thing that came up was a need for more private spaces for moms to breastfeed or pump. Often times, these moms use exam rooms, which can interrupt employee workflow, or bathrooms, which are less than ideal. Other options included the Mamava.

“Our executive steering committee signed off on the idea shortly after we presented it to them, affirming that purchasing the pod was the right thing to do,” said Katie Daggett, director of Patient and Family Services. “Creating a private, peaceful space for our breastfeeding moms and tube feeding parents shows we are a family-centered organization that cares about not only our patients, but their entire family.”

Sascha Mayer, co-founder and CEO of Mamava said she is extremely excited to support breastfeeding mothers at Texas Children’s.

“We believe that all mamas deserve a clean, comfortable, and dignified place to use a breast pump or breastfeed distraction-free — anywhere, anytime,” Mayer said. “Mamava pods provide flexibility for facilities and easy access for moms.”

Mamava is an expert in lactation space design, thoughtfully designing solutions for breastfeeding moms on-the-go. With both analog and digital products, Mamava celebrates and supports the 21st century breastfeeding mama. Mamava is women-owned, made in America, and a proud member of the B Corp community. The Mamava app, free for iOS and Android, helps moms find pumping and breastfeeding friendly locations (never a bathroom!), unlocks Mamava pods through a proprietary smart technology system, and delivers useful breastfeeding content. To learn more visit mamava.com.

August 6, 2019

Shortly after Amber Keckley’s daughter was born, the new mom showed up at Texas Children’s Breastfeeding Friends (BFF) Group to learn more about breastfeeding and to meet other women like herself. For the next several weeks, Keckly learned more than she ever expected about breastfeeding and other issues related to parenting a newborn. She also gained a group of life-long friends.

“After having my first child, I felt very isolated,” Keckly said. “The BFF Group forced me to get dressed, get out of the house and share my feelings with others.”

Keckly liked the group so much, she stayed in touch with some of the moms she met in the group, getting together with them weekly for the first year of her child’s life. She also decided to rejoin the group after her second child was born.

“Mothers can share their experiences openly at the BFF Group, providing them with an additional outlet and a growing, functional compass to help each participant meet their personal goal with breastfeeding,” said Lactation Consultant and BFF Group Leader Brenda Hayden. “Each is invested and confidence just blossoms.”

The BFF Group meets from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Friday in the patient education room on the fourth floor of the Pavilion for Women. Anywhere from 15 to 30 women attend with their newborns. Facilitated by Hayden, a certified lactation consultant, the curriculum consists of an ongoing six-week series of topics:

  • The early weeks of breastfeeding
  • Overcoming breastfeeding challenges
  • Nighttime breastfeeding
  • Nutrition for the breastfeeding mother
  • Breastfeeding away from home
  • Pumping, bottles, and breastfeeding

“Every week the mix of assembled attendees differs, so even if a mother is repeating a weekly topic, she will have exposure to new insights, tips and information,” Hayden said. “From the moment of introduction, to topics, discussion and open forum, it is our goal that each mother feels heard, validated and supported.”

The BFF Group was created in 2015 as a way to provide additional breastfeeding support to new mothers. Since then, more than 750 women from across the globe have attended. Mothers come from areas far and wide and through other neighboring hospital systems, such as Methodist Hospital, Memorial Hermann Hospital, HCA Houston Healthcare, the Lactation Foundation and the WIC Nutrition Program.

Participants often are accompanied by their mothers, grandmothers, sisters or girlfriends. These additional visitors may participate in the group as well and bring deep generational and regional perspectives, which provide additional support and resources to both new and experienced mothers.

“This program goes along with our overall philosophy at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, which is to treat women, mothers and babies with a full continuum of high-quality, expert health care and to do so in a family-centered environment,” said Director of Women’s Support Services Nancy Hurst. “Providing additional breastfeeding support was a natural, intuitive step forward in providing the best in ongoing care for families.”

How do moms learn about the BFF Group?

This is where you continue to have a steady impact! In keeping with the BFF Group’s practice of layering supports, mothers are introduced to multiple resources early on in prenatal classes, during her inpatient stay, during her discharge teaching, and throughout the postpartum period by many OB/CNM and pediatric providers. Many referrals come through word of mouth or by previous BFF Group alumni. In addition, moms such as Keckley return to the group with their second children.

“I tell everyone I can about this group,” Keckley said. “It helped me more than I could have imagined.”

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week August 1-7, Texas Children’s Hospital and the BFF Group are hosting its first Latch-On event where breastfeeding and pumping moms can come enjoy breastfeeding advice, pumping tips, refreshments, a photo booth and prize drawing. The event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, August 2 in the patient education room on the fourth floor of the Pavilion for Women. The BFF Group discussion will follow the event. A similar event was held at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands on August 1. Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus will host a breastfeeding awareness event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, August 9.

The BFF Group and other breastfeeding services offered to patients, also are offered to lactating employees. Click here for a comprehensive list of available services.

August 1, 2017

As a mother to three young boys, Sarah Yarbrough made sure her babies received the best life-saving gift she could give them – her own breast milk. While breastfeeding has many health benefits for infants, Yarbrough knows the challenges that new mothers often experience during their breastfeeding journey.

“After the birth of my first baby, I had a lot of difficulty with breastfeeding,” said Yarbrough, a lactation consultant at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. “Without the help of a very dedicated postpartum nurse and my mother, I would have had a much harder time.”

Besides being a mom, Yarbrough finds her job at the Pavilion for Women very rewarding – educating new mothers on the health benefits of breastfeeding and helping them achieve their breastfeeding goals.

“We assist mothers with positions and techniques for breastfeeding and develop individualized care plans for families when feedings aren’t going as planned,” Yarbrough said. “We also assist families in all areas of the hospital with their unique breastfeeding situation including NICU moms who need help getting their milk supply established so they can feed their pre-term infants at the appropriate time.”

As a designated Baby Friendly Hospital, the Pavilion for Women has implemented several evidence-based breastfeeding practices which include teaching moms to respond to their infant’s early feeding cues rather than schedule feedings, implementing skin-to-skin contact between mom and baby after delivery and encouraging “rooming in” so mothers and infants can stay together 24 hours a day.

The Pavilion for Women provides other breastfeeding support services which include:

  • Baby Bistro provides one-on-one consultation with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Prenatal and postpartum outpatient visits are available by calling 832-826-8881.
  • The Bistro is located inside Bella Luna Boutique on the third floor of the Pavilion for Women. The Bella Luna provides breast pumps for purchase or rental. Employees pay a monthly rental fee, but have the opportunity to get reimbursed through Texas Children’s Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance provider.
  • Employee pumping locations are located at all Texas Children’s Hospital campuses.
  • Mother’s Milk Bank prepares more than 800 syringes or bottles of milk each day for an average of 100 infants in the neonatal intensive care unit based on instructions provided by physician. Mothers who produce a surplus of breast milk can donate their supply to the Mothers’ Milk Bank.
  • Educational classes on breastfeeding are offered at the Pavilion for Women.

“When I began working at the Pavilion for Women, I was amazed at the amount of support given to breastfeeding moms, not only by the lactation team, but the entire Pavilion staff,” Yarbrough said. “To me, this supportive environment is the ideal place to deliver a baby.”

In recognition of World Breastfeeding Week from July 31 to August 4, the Pavilion for Women’s lactation support team has several activities planned including an event on Wednesday, August 2, at The Auxiliary Bridge that will include games, prizes and a photo booth.

January 24, 2017

12517Barcodemilk640On January 17, Texas Children’s implemented barcode scanning for breast milk to reduce administration errors system-wide by ensuring that the correct breast milk is delivered to the right baby every time.

“Since 80 percent of breast milk orders originate in the NICU, we implemented barcode scanning in our Newborn Center last September as part of a pilot project which produced amazing results,” said Texas Children’s Patient Care Services and Clinical Informatics Director Jennifer Sanders. “We are excited to deliver this functionality across our Medical Center campus, the Pavilion for Women and West Campus.”

Using the same barcode scanning system to prevent medication administration errors, the Positive Patient Identification (PPID) process incorporates Epic Rover, a mobile software application that uses barcode technology to positively match breast milk orders to the right patient, subsequently reducing the potential risk of adverse patient safety events during the milk handling process.

Once Epic Rover is downloaded to an iPod Touch equipped with a scanner or sled, a nurse scans the barcode on the patient’s wristband and the barcode on the breast milk container at the patient’s bedside instead of having to manually check it prior to a feeding. The milk order documentation then flows real-time from Epic Rover into Epic, which also documents any supplements added to the breast milk.

“Since using Epic Rover in our Newborn Center, our compliance rates have consistently soared above the 95 percent goal,” said Texas Children’s Clinical Informatics Manager Erin Davies. “We have avoided documented near misses where Epic Rover detected the wrong breast milk with the wrong baby, which demonstrates the tremendous impact barcode scanning has on ensuring the safety of our patients.”

The successful implementation of Epic Rover at Texas Children’s involved the collaboration of several departments including Clinical Informatics, Information Services, Food and Nutrition Services, Milk Bank, Pharmacy, Nursing, and the Nursing Professional Development team that helped apply PPID safety protocols to breast milk.

Barcode scanning for breast milk will also go live at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands when the facility opens this spring.

August 4, 2015

8515breastfeeding640While August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, educating new mothers about the importance of breastfeeding happens every day at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women.

“A natural, life-saving gift mothers can give their newborns is their own breast milk,” said Women’s Support Services Director Nancy Hurst. “Unlike formula, human milk contains powerful antibodies that protect infants against disease and infection, while strengthening the indelible bond between a mother and her baby from the earliest moments of life.”

The Pavilion for Women has implemented numerous breastfeeding practices to ensure our nurses, obstetricians and pediatricians are well trained to teach mothers how to breastfeed and maintain lactation. Even when separated from their infants, which can occur when premature babies are confined to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for long-term care, mothers are shown how to initiate and maintain lactation. A nursing and medical staff that is educated in evidence-based breastfeeding practices is one of the many requirements to achieve the designation of Baby Friendly Hospital.

On July 22 and 23, surveyors from Baby Friendly USA visited Texas Children’s Hospital to evaluate our adherence to the Ten Steps for Successful Breastfeeding. These steps – which the Pavilion for Women has successfully implemented – include teaching mothers to respond to their infant’s early feeding cues rather than schedule feedings, avoiding the use of pacifiers and bottles until breastfeeding is well established which normally occurs during the first two weeks, feeding infants only breast milk and providing mothers with resources for lactation support prior to leaving the hospital.

Other breastfeeding efforts initiated at the Pavilion for Women include:

  • Helping mothers breastfeed within one hour of birth
  • Encouraging “rooming in” so mothers and infants can stay together 24 hours a day
  • Implementing immediate skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby following delivery, even after cesarean birth
  • Standardizing prenatal education to educate women about the benefits of breastfeeding
  • Providing 20 hours of didactic and skills-based education and instruction to all nursing staff caring for mothers and babies at the Pavilion for Women, including three hours of breastfeeding education to our obstetricians and pediatrics providers
  • Promoting the Breastfeeding Champions Program to inspire nurses to become role models for other nurses by reminding them why it is important to encourage women to breastfeed

“New mothers often times do not succeed in breastfeeding because there are no systems in place to support them,” said Prenatal Education Program Manager Anne Wright. “Since 88 percent of the mothers who deliver at the Pavilion for Women want to breastfeed, it is important that we implement and sustain practices that ensure their success.”

The Baby Friendly Hospital designation is important to Texas Children’s because it complements our commitment to delivering high-quality care to improve long-term outcomes for our neonatal patients.

Since Texas Children’s Newborn Center implemented the exclusive human milk feeding protocol six years ago, the rate of necrotizing enterocolitis – a devastating intestinal disease that affects premature infants – has dropped by 77 percent in our NICU. This remarkable feat is attributed to the generous mothers, many of whom are Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine employees, who donate their excess breast milk to Texas Children’s Mother’s Milk Bank.

“Every ounce of donor breast milk improves outcomes for our NICU babies,” said Texas Children’s Neonatal Nutrition Director Dr. Amy Hair. “Mothers who donate their excess supply to our milk bank ensures our tiniest, most vulnerable patients receive a constant supply of nourishment and protection to build their developing immune system.”

While achieving the Baby Friendly Hospital designation is a lengthy four-phase process, Hurst says it could take up to 10 weeks to find out if Texas Children’s joins the roster of hospitals that proudly display this coveted distinction.

“Right now, it’s a waiting game for us,” Hurst said. “But, I am confident that we will achieve this designation because we’ve worked so hard to meet the rigorous criteria for implementing successful breastfeeding practices at the Pavilion for Women.”

For more information about Baby Friendly USA, click here. To learn more about Texas Children’s Mother’s Milk Bank, click here.

June 9, 2015

61015MilkBankluncheon640

Texas Children’s Mothers’ Milk Bank recently held its second annual appreciation luncheon to honor mothers who have generously donated the lifesaving gift of breast milk. Together, they contributed 444 gallons of breast milk to our Milk Bank, resulting in more than 56,802 feedings in 2014.

This remarkable feat would not have been accomplished without the generous support of our milk donors, many of whom are Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine employees. Mothers of critically ill infants in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Texas Children’s Newborn Center depend on pasteurized donor breast milk to supplement their own milk supply if they are unable to produce enough milk for their baby.

Texas Children’s Chief of Neonatology Dr. Stephen Welty, Neonatal Nutrition Director Dr. Amy Hair and Dr. Jennifer Arnold congratulated our milk donors for their selfless act of kindness at the luncheon, which was funded by Bad Pants, a long-time supporter of our Newborn Center.

“Every ounce of donor breast milk improves outcomes for our NICU babies,” Hair said. “Mothers who donate their excess supply to our milk bank ensure our tiniest, most vulnerable patients receive a constant supply of nourishment and protection to stay healthy.”

Unlike formula, human milk contains antibodies that protect babies against bacterial infections and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a life-threatening neonatal condition that causes intestinal inflammation. Since the Newborn Center implemented its exclusive human milk feeding protocol in 2009, NEC rates in our NICU have dropped by 77 percent.

This year, the Milk Bank celebrated its fourth year of operation, and is working hard to ensure enough pasteurized donor breast milk is available to feed the more than 2,000 NICU babies treated at the Newborn Center each year.

“Our milk donors are life savers,” Texas Children’s donation coordinator Laurel Laviolette said. “The amount of breast milk collected last year exemplifies our milk donors’ commitment to promoting the health of our NICU patients.”

For more information on how to become a Texas Children’s milk donor, click here.