“MOM’S PLACE”
BREAST MILK CENTER OPENS

Driscoll Children's Hospital
3rd floor
Thursday, May 6, 2004
2pm

(Corpus Christi, TX) As we approach Mother’s Day, Driscoll Children's Hospital is excited to announce the opening of “Mom’s Place”, a breast milk center, and a First in South Texas. The breast milk center will provide multiple functions primarily serving as a safe and secure place designated to pump and store a mother’s breast milk. It will serve the mother of a pre-mature baby, an employee of the hospital who is a new mom and can also be utilized by a mother who has a child here at the hospital.

This center was specifically designed with the health and well being of a baby in mind. Many new moms do not experience the bonding with their child after a pre-mature birth. In many instances, a pre-mature baby is rushed to Driscoll Children's Hospital to receive medical attention without getting the attention many full term moms are able to provide to their babies.

Medically, breast milk has proven to be significant in the first stages of a child’s life. Research shows possible protective effects against SIDS, lymphoma, and allergic diseases to name a few. Breast milk also decreases the incidence and /or severity of diarrhea, lower respiratory infection, and bacterial meningitis.

Driscoll Children's Hospital will provide a Lactation Consultant, Laurie Beck, who has 16 years of experience and is part of the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. Also on staff, Breast milk/Formula Technicians who will oversee those babies who need additional nutrients supplied to their breast milk. “Mom’s Place” will be staffed around the clock. The center provides a private place for mom to pump their breast milk, breast feeding classes for new moms, an educational resource of literature in both English and Spanish, and information on the benefits for both mom and baby. In establishing this center, Driscoll Children's Hospital has been recognized by the State of Texas as a Mother-Friendly Worksite.

About Driscoll Children’s Hospital
“Improve the health of adults and you give them back their health …
Improve the health of children and you give them their life.”

Since opening its doors in 1953, Driscoll Children’s Hospital has been offering hope and healing to the children of South Texas for half a century. The facility is a 189-bed pediatric tertiary care center with pediatric board-certified specialists representing 19 medical and nine surgical specialties. Each year, more than 6,000 children are admitted for inpatient care, 5,000 for day surgery, and 50,000 for outpatient primary and specialty care, as well as 40,000 for emergency care, as the first South Texas hospital with emergency services exclusively for children. Additionally, Driscoll maintains a state-of-the-art ground/air transport team, 20-bed pediatric intensive care unit, 40-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and specialized medical outreach.

www.driscollchildrens.org

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