Excela Health Now Offering on-Demand Education to Promote Breastfeeding

GREENSBURG, PA, March 2021 … First-time mother-to-be Megan Fritz had been scouring the Internet for information to prepare her for the care of her baby following delivery. Among her newly discovered resources is Excela Health’s online class promoting breastfeeding success. The free 90-minute on-demand class has been created by Excela Health’s internationally board-certified lactation consultants who support mothers before and after delivery in their desire to breastfeed. The class is the first in what promises to be a library of courses to help growing families who are patients of Excela Health OB/GYN and planning delivery within Excela’s Family Additions Maternity Center.

While Excela’s childbirth nurse educators have long offered in-person classes for parents-to-be, online course development was prompted by the COVID-19 restrictions surrounding close gatherings and will open opportunities for future distance learning opportunities.

“Breastfeeding education was the ideal topic for our debut class,” noted Wendy Reynolds, Clinical Director of the Family Additions Maternity Center at Excela Westmoreland Hospital, which delivers 1,250 babies annually. “First-time parents have many questions and anxieties about what to expect with their newborn. Given the volume of information that’s available on the Web, our educators wanted to provide a source for verified and trustworthy information that moms can return to time and again, if need be, to increase their confidence and commitment to breastfeeding.”

“This class is exactly what I was looking for,” said Fritz, who gave birth to a
daughter earlier this month. “I can review at my own pace, and watching close to
delivery helped me prepare for something I want to try. I recognize the benefits of
breastfeeding for me and the baby and I really want to be successful.”

Among the benefits of the on-demand format for the Unity Township woman and
her husband, Brian, is the ability to revisit the instructions as needed to enhance her
understanding and comfort with breastfeeding long after the new family has left the
hospital. Particularly beneficial to Fritz, who plans to return to work at some point during her baby’s first year, is the guidance on the use of a breast pump to express milk so that her infant can continue to receive mother’s milk even if she’s not available to nurse.

During the class, Excela’s educators discuss the benefits of breastfeeding,
feeding cues, proper techniques, and positioning, and address common questions and concerns. The style is relaxed and conversational and includes anecdotes that are relatable. And should the viewer have questions after watching the presentation, Excela’s childbirth educators and lactation consultants are available by phone for follow-up.

Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital is recognized among the Best Maternity
Hospitals for 2020 by Newsweek and as a certified Safe Sleep Leader from Cribs for
Kids. Excela’s Family Additions Maternity Center also is ranked among adherents to
Pennsylvania’s Keystone 10 protocols promote newborn wellness through
breastfeeding. In addition, Excela Health is a participant in the Mid-Atlantic Mothers’
Milk Bank and provides a depot location at Excela Square at Norwin for expedited
service to women in Westmoreland County who are able to donate human milk to help infants to thrive.

To learn more about maternity care at Excela Health, visit ExcelaHealth.org. To
register for the online class, please contact the Excela Health Call Center at 1-877-771-1234. A confirmation email containing the video link will be sent to those enrolled.