Dr. Suzanne Haynes, U.S. Office of Women’s Health, will Speak at CIMS’ Annual Mother-Friendly Childbirth Forum
The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) is honored that Suzanne Haynes, Ph.D., Senior Science Advisor of the Office of Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be speaking at CIMS’ Fourth Annual Mother-Friendly Childbirth Forum on February 25th.
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (PRWEB) February 18, 2005 -- Dr. Haynes’ will address
the critical importance and protective qualities of exclusive breastfeeding and
its impact on long-term maternal and child health. The Office of Women’s Health
launched a National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign in June of 2004 to promote
the unique health benefits of long-term breastfeeding.
CIMS, an active
participant of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee, advocates in their
Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI) that maternity care providers
strive to achieve the WHO-UNICEF “Ten Steps of the Baby-Friendly Hospital
Initiative. ” The MFCI is a consensus document promoting an evidence-based
wellness model of maternity care and a non-interventionist approach to
childbirth. Health care providers who use the MFCI enhance the opportunity and
ability of mothers to successfully initiate and continue nursing their infants.
At its annual Mother-Friendly Childbirth forum, CIMS is poised to
initiate and support a sorely needed national birth practices task force. CIMS
has helped bring national attention to the rampant use of unscientific birth
practices and procedures that often complicate rather than facilitate
maternal-infant attachment and the well being of mothers and babies. Roberta M.
Scaer, MSS, one of CIMS’ co-founders, will speak on how birth practices impact
breastfeeding and the motherbaby unit as a continuum.
In addition to the
Office of Women’s Health’s Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign, CIMS cheers the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recent policy statement urging members to
promote, protect, and support breastfeeding in their practice, in the hospital,
in medical schools, in their community, and the nation.
In its’ report,
“Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk”, the AAP states that extensive
research confirms breastfeeding and the use of human milk provide both short and
long-term health benefits for both mother and baby. The superior outcomes of
exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding for
at least the first year of life are extensive and include nutritional,
immunologic, developmental, psychological, social, economic, as well as
environmental benefits.
To address the complex issues of the current
U.S. health care system that inhibit the implementation of mother-friendly care,
the forum program will feature a panel discussion on the Ethics of Choice and
Control. Members of the panel, moderated by Henci Goer, author of two books on
evidence-based maternity care, include: Wyndi Marie Anderson, National Organizer
for National Advocates for Pregnant Women; Zola D. Golub, Maternal Child Health
Nursing Specialist at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, NYC; Nicette
Jukelevics, Co-Chair for CIMS and Editor/Publisher of www.vbac.com; Nayna Campbell
Philipsen, JD, a CIMS Board member and Director of Education, Examination and
Research at the Maryland Board of Nursing. Sharon Schindler Rising, Executive
Director of the Centering Pregnancy and Parenting Association (CPPA) will end
the forum with a presentation on using Centering Pregnancy to redesign prenatal
care.
The Mother-Friendly Childbirth Forum at the Sheraton Crystal City
Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, is expected to attract maternity care
professionals from around the world, representatives from national professional
organizations, hospital administrators, medical and nursing students, members of
government agencies, and media representatives.
The Coalition for
Improving Maternity Services (CIMS), a United Nations recognized NGO, is a
collaborative effort of numerous individuals, leading researchers, and more than
50 organizations representing over 90,000 members. Promoting a wellness model of
maternity care that will improve birth outcomes and substantially reduce costs;
CIMS developed the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI) in 1996. The
MFCI is recognized as an important model for improving the healthcare and well
being of children beginning at birth. The document has been translated into
Braille and several languages and is used around the world.
For
additional information about CIMS and a free copy of "Breastfeeding Is
Priceless" visit www.motherfriendly.org or call Toll Free 1-888-282-CIMS
(2467).
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb209945.htm