US telehealth platform to support breastfeeding mothers in Ohio

Two US health companies have launched a telehealth breastfeeding support platform to help new mothers at maternity centres in Ohio.

The virtual lactation platform Nest Collaborative and the health network Kettering Health aim to give new parents in Ohio access to lactation support via telehealth.

Nest Collaborative’s International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) will augment Kettering Health’s lactation programme by providing virtual prenatal and postpartum support for new parents at the health system’s maternity centres in Ohio.

“Kettering Health’s collaboration with Nest Collaborative is a wonderful supplementation and support to our robust lactation program,” says Michelle Beebe, manager of childbirth education and perinatal outreach at Kettering Health.

“Our goal is to reduce barriers to breastfeeding and Nest Collaborative makes expert consults available for new mothers, even at night and on the weekends,.”

Kettering Health has a long history of supporting patients in breastfeeding, explains Beebe, which imparts significant health benefits to both babies and their mothers.

The health system’s own lactation consultants aim to prioritise postpartum care for new mothers both in the hospital and after discharge within Kettering Health’s outpatient clinics, as they have less time to provide prenatal education to prepare families for breastfeeding.

Some families also face barriers in accessing the clinic’s facilities for support after birth.

“Nest Collaborative’s diverse, experienced lactation consultants fill in gaps our outpatient clinic may not be able to support,” Beebe adds.

“We have rural moms who have trouble driving in for support prenatally, and career moms who can’t make it in during working hours. And we have inner city challenges where it can take a person two hours on a bus to go to a clinic and then turn around and ride home.

“Now they can get quality lactation care in their own homes, with consultants who look like them and for non-native English speakers, who speak their language.”

Judith Nowlin, CEO of Nest Collaborative, said: “We want families to be successful and supported through access to expert lactation care when and where they need it.

“I am excited about how this collaboration with Kettering Health will further remove barriers to support families on their breastfeeding journeys.

“We also know that breastfeeding can be challenging, so we focus on helping parents find safe feeding options if exclusive breastfeeding is not possible or desired.”

Nest Collaborative’s network of lactation consultants are available to families for virtual consultations, seven days a week, in all 50 states and in 11 languages.

Breastfeeding has important positive long-term health consequences for infants and mothers. The World Health Organisation recommends that all infants should be exclusively breastfed for six months or longer and advises continuation of breastfeeding for two years or beyond.

According to a survey conducted in 2016, more than 80 per cent of US mothers breastfeed their newborns, but fewer than a third keep doing so for the recommended one year.

Support may, however, be effective in reducing the number of women stopping breastfeeding at three to four months compared to later time points.