FOR ANTIGO TIMES 

Antigo, WI. – World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from August 1 – 7 to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike. Increasing breastfeeding to near-universal levels could save more than 800,000 lives every year, the majority being children under 6 months.

Aspirus is a milk depot center for The Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, a certified breast milk bank located near Chicago.

Becoming the parent of a new baby is both a life-altering gift and an immense responsibility. This week, as countries around the world celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, UNICEF and the World Health Organization are calling on governments and all employers to adopt family-friendly policies that support breastfeeding.

The World Breastfeeding Month 2019 theme is Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding.

Aspirus Langlade Hospital is the very first hospital in the Aspirus system to obtain the Baby-Friendly Hospital designation in March 2018.

The Baby-Friendly designation is a world-wide recognized “Gold Standard” for giving the most recent scientifically evidence-based maternity care according to the WHO.  Aspirus Langlade Hospital has been striving to empower new families to be more successful with  exclusively breastfeeding their babies for the first 6 months, and continuing breastfeeding for up to one year as recommended by professional organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Patient satisfaction surveys have been 100% this year for the Aspirus Langlade Hospital Birthing Center.  “We are very proud of the Providers, Birthing Center Staff and families for helping us achieve excellent maternity care and healthy families.” says Mary Cerny, Registered Nurse for Aspirus Langlade Hospital Birthing Center.

The WHO says breastfeeding decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2-diabetes, and heart disease. It is estimated that increased breastfeeding could avert 20,000 maternal deaths each year due to breast cancer.

Potential donors at Aspirus are screened for eligibility using a variety of health history questions and lifestyle questions. Donors are given lab tests to screen for any potential infections. The mother can begin donating milk once she clears the screening process.

Mothers who are interested in becoming breast milk donors can call Aspirus Women’s Health at 715-847-0454,toll free at 888-236-2483, or by emailing milkdonation@aspirus.org

Aspirus is a non-profit, community-directed health system based in Wausau, Wisconsin. Its 7,700 employees are focused on improving the health and well-being of people throughout Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Aspirus serves communities through four hospitals in Michigan and four hospitals in Wisconsin, 50 clinics, home health and hospice care, pharmacies, critical care and air-medical transport, medical goods, nursing homes and a broad network of physicians. Aspirus was recognized in 2018 and 2019 by IBM Watson Health as a Top 15 Health System in its annual study identifying the top-performing health systems in the country. For more information, visit aspirus.org.