Help Patients Manage Feeding Transitions While Improving Provider Capacity
Help Patients Manage Feeding Transitions While Improving Provider Capacity
SimpliFed’s mission is to democratize access to baby feeding support. We’re obsessed with improving access to care and will do everything in our power to make sure that families have evidence-based, judgment-free resources throughout their baby feeding journey. These resources come in many forms, including health plan care managers, WIC, inpatient lactation counselors, OB/GYNs, midwives, doulas, pediatricians, and more. SimpliFed works alongside these community-based providers to ensure that parents get the best care possible, when and where they most need it.
We recently sat down with Felicity, a hospital-based International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), to talk about why she refers her patients to SimpliFed. Several themes emerged including managing transitions, improving provider capacity, supporting parents with pumping and formula feeding and addressing maternal mental health. Today’s blog post will address the first two themes. Stay tuned for Part 2!
Managing Transitions
Felicity sees all the patients that deliver on her unit, but knows that they’re going to need additional support when they go home from the hospital. Basic breastfeeding mechanics, questions about positioning and engorgement are common.
“Moms need reassurance that what they’re doing is right. Walking is very natural, but we all needed help to do it,” says Felicity. “Women would live in villages, relying on their relatives and friends to show them how to breastfeed. In the military community specifically, they are often displaced from family and friends, so there is that need for additional support, not just in a clinical sense, but in a mother-to-mother sense.”
Once babies are between eight and twelve days old, they go through a growth spurt. “At every developmental milestone, you’re going to see an increase in duration and frequency at the breast. Babies are very fussy and moms start to question their milk supply,” explains Felicity. “Parents start to question if the baby is gaining appropriately.” SimpliFed providers are able to virtually assess baby’s latch, feeding routine and diaper output to determine whether or not additional intervention is needed.
Improving Provider Capacity
Felicity appreciates that SimpliFed can be her first line of defense, especially when she’s unable to see patients because she’s busy at the hospital and can’t see patients on an outpatient basis, or it’s an evening or weekend and she’s off. SimpliFed has allowed her to focus on the more medically complex cases.
Partnering with SimpliFed allows IBCLCs like Felicity to practice at the top of their license.
“We are cultivating that space to see those more medically complex cases. Once babies have had their two week well baby visit, we’re expecting them to be back to their birth weight and if they’re not, we need to figure out why. And if this is the case, there needs to be a pre- and post-feed weigh in and a more detailed care plan put in place.”
Once the more complex issue is handled, Felicity refers her patients back over to SimpliFed for, “the mother-to-mother support, and also the ability for patients to have that second touchpoint.” Felicity notes, “We’re going to be focused on one thing in our visit and I feel confident that SimpliFed is able to address the other issues with patients.”
SimpliFed providers are able to do infant oral assessments via telemedicine, which has also helped Felicity immensely. “One of my patients that I had connected with SimpliFed reached back out and said the IBCLC saw what looked like a tongue-tie and to follow-up with me. I was able to schedule an appointment in conjunction with a pediatrician who could take care of the tongue-tie the same day,” explains Felicity. “It was super helpful to know what another IBCLC identified so that we could maximize that time with the pediatrician.”
Referring Patients to SimpliFed
If you would like to refer a patient to SimpliFed for comprehensive baby feeding support, visit www.SimpliFed.com. Appointments are available seven days a week in English and Spanish. Still have questions? Check out our online resource guide.
