Celebrating breastfeeding moms
By Roberta Cannon, RN
Sounds of cooing moms and crying babies abounded in the sunlit Lorusso Conference Center at Cape Cod Hospital on August 5, 2025, when about 25 people gathered to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week.
Vases of white and blue hydrangea blooms adorned a long table, and were quickly moved aside and replaced with diaper bags, baby blankets and Boppy pillows. Mothers settled in with their little ones to share in camaraderie and support as they had over the past few months in their breastfeeding support groups provided by The Family Birthplace at Cape Cod Hospital.
World Breastfeeding Week was started in 1992 and commemorates the 1990 Innocenti Declaration by the WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
The annual celebration takes place the first week of August and the 2025 theme was “Prioritize Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable Support Systems.” The annual global campaign is coordinated and organized by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA).
A Valuable Support System
For some, the hospital breastfeeding groups have been a support system, and for one mom it was her first time hearing about the possibilities of what the group could offer.
“This is my very first time here,” said Haley Novotny as she and 4-week-old Grace got comfortable. “I’m hoping to find some support.”
“The group has been a lifesaver,” said Chelsa Scott, who was holding her son, 10-month-old Parker. “The little things, like not feeling alone and no one else slept last night, that’s great. Also getting answers for breastfeeding questions; it gets me out of the house, and Parker loves it. He likes to be with other babies, and it is definitely good for both of us.”
“The lactation consultants are the absolute best,” said Maddy Sommers-McNary, CNM, a Cape Cod Hospital midwife and new mom. “The postpartum programming is so good and so valuable. It has helped us so much with our breastfeeding journey. I recommend it to absolutely everyone.”
Karla Peckham has been a part of two breastfeeding support groups, the first with her oldest child and now with her youngest.
“I’ve made lifelong friends, and we talk every day,” said Peckham. “I made friends in the group with my previous baby and now with my new one.”
Breastfeeding Support Programs
During their welcome speech to the World Breastfeeding Week celebration, Diane Robertson-Milliken, BSN, RN, IBCLC, and Heather Lakatos, RN, IBCLC, who are both lactation consultants and lead the breastfeeding support groups, spoke about the meaning of World Breastfeeding Week and about the programs they offer at CCH.
“This is an annual celebration that is held every year during the first week in August in more than 120 countries,” said Robertson-Milliken. “This means ensuring that every mother has access to support and information that she needs to breastfeed as long as she wishes to. By investing in skilled breastfeeding counseling, enforcing the international code of marketing on breast milk substitutes, creating environments at home and at work, it supports and empowers women.
“This is just not about doing what’s right, it is also smart economics. Breastfeeding delivers a hopeful future not only for children, but for society. It reduces healthcare costs, improves development, strengthens economics. It sets children up with healthy beginnings.”
Lakatos explained that in 2022, CCH became a ‘Baby-Friendly Hospital’, “which ensured that the breastfeeding message was consistent and science-based, which wasn’t always the case.”
She continued, “Cape Cod Healthcare has invested extensively in training our staff, and we’ve offered lactation support since we launched our lactation program in 2011. Ninety percent of our moms plan to breastfeed and we provide the support to meet the needs of our community. We are proud to offer a seven-day a week ‘warm line’ (to speak with a lactation consultant); we have daily one-on-one outpatient appointments, and we have weekly support groups here at Cape Cod Hospital as well as our Falmouth Hospital location. We also see our moms every day during their hospital stay.”
Rana O’Loughlin, RN, PMH-C, CLC, maternal child health supervisor, and Callie Tenaglia RN, BSN, maternal child health RN, represented the VNA of Cape Cod’s Public Health and Wellness Department at the celebration.
“We have one of the most special jobs in the community and we are happy to support all of you and your babies,” said O’Loughlin.
O’Loughlin and Tenaglia gave out information about their community support programs for moms.
“We offer home visits to all postpartum residents of Barnstable County after they are discharged from Cape Cod Hospital, or if they deliver at another hospital but are residents of Barnstable,” said O’Loughlin. “We answer a lot of questions, provide assessments on mom and baby, provide lactation support, wound care, mental health support, education and resources. We have certified lactation consultants who are also our maternal child health nurses who support moms and also encourage them to attend the breastfeeding support groups and clinics at Cape Cod and Falmouth Hospitals.”
Many moms at the gathering took advantage of some “me time” for a massage or Reiki session during the celebration, while staff welcomed the opportunity to hold their babies. Alissa Krieger-DeWitt, RN, CCH childbirth educator, hosted a footprints card-making station where moms could get their baby’s footprints imprinted on a beautiful card to take home.
More information about joining a Cape Cod Healthcare breastfeeding support group or for an outpatient lactation appointment is available by calling 508-862-5156.
Information about the VNA of Cape Cod prenatal and postpartum clinical services is available by calling 508-957-7423.
Originally published on Cape Cod Health News, August 19, 2025
Vases of white and blue hydrangea blooms adorned a long table, and were quickly moved aside and replaced with diaper bags, baby blankets and Boppy pillows. Mothers settled in with their little ones to share in camaraderie and support as they had over the past few months in their breastfeeding support groups provided by The Family Birthplace at Cape Cod Hospital.
World Breastfeeding Week was started in 1992 and commemorates the 1990 Innocenti Declaration by the WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
The annual celebration takes place the first week of August and the 2025 theme was “Prioritize Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable Support Systems.” The annual global campaign is coordinated and organized by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA).
A Valuable Support System
For some, the hospital breastfeeding groups have been a support system, and for one mom it was her first time hearing about the possibilities of what the group could offer.
“This is my very first time here,” said Haley Novotny as she and 4-week-old Grace got comfortable. “I’m hoping to find some support.”
“The group has been a lifesaver,” said Chelsa Scott, who was holding her son, 10-month-old Parker. “The little things, like not feeling alone and no one else slept last night, that’s great. Also getting answers for breastfeeding questions; it gets me out of the house, and Parker loves it. He likes to be with other babies, and it is definitely good for both of us.”
“The lactation consultants are the absolute best,” said Maddy Sommers-McNary, CNM, a Cape Cod Hospital midwife and new mom. “The postpartum programming is so good and so valuable. It has helped us so much with our breastfeeding journey. I recommend it to absolutely everyone.”
Karla Peckham has been a part of two breastfeeding support groups, the first with her oldest child and now with her youngest.
“I’ve made lifelong friends, and we talk every day,” said Peckham. “I made friends in the group with my previous baby and now with my new one.”
Breastfeeding Support Programs
During their welcome speech to the World Breastfeeding Week celebration, Diane Robertson-Milliken, BSN, RN, IBCLC, and Heather Lakatos, RN, IBCLC, who are both lactation consultants and lead the breastfeeding support groups, spoke about the meaning of World Breastfeeding Week and about the programs they offer at CCH.
“This is an annual celebration that is held every year during the first week in August in more than 120 countries,” said Robertson-Milliken. “This means ensuring that every mother has access to support and information that she needs to breastfeed as long as she wishes to. By investing in skilled breastfeeding counseling, enforcing the international code of marketing on breast milk substitutes, creating environments at home and at work, it supports and empowers women.
“This is just not about doing what’s right, it is also smart economics. Breastfeeding delivers a hopeful future not only for children, but for society. It reduces healthcare costs, improves development, strengthens economics. It sets children up with healthy beginnings.”
Lakatos explained that in 2022, CCH became a ‘Baby-Friendly Hospital’, “which ensured that the breastfeeding message was consistent and science-based, which wasn’t always the case.”
She continued, “Cape Cod Healthcare has invested extensively in training our staff, and we’ve offered lactation support since we launched our lactation program in 2011. Ninety percent of our moms plan to breastfeed and we provide the support to meet the needs of our community. We are proud to offer a seven-day a week ‘warm line’ (to speak with a lactation consultant); we have daily one-on-one outpatient appointments, and we have weekly support groups here at Cape Cod Hospital as well as our Falmouth Hospital location. We also see our moms every day during their hospital stay.”
Rana O’Loughlin, RN, PMH-C, CLC, maternal child health supervisor, and Callie Tenaglia RN, BSN, maternal child health RN, represented the VNA of Cape Cod’s Public Health and Wellness Department at the celebration.
“We have one of the most special jobs in the community and we are happy to support all of you and your babies,” said O’Loughlin.
O’Loughlin and Tenaglia gave out information about their community support programs for moms.
“We offer home visits to all postpartum residents of Barnstable County after they are discharged from Cape Cod Hospital, or if they deliver at another hospital but are residents of Barnstable,” said O’Loughlin. “We answer a lot of questions, provide assessments on mom and baby, provide lactation support, wound care, mental health support, education and resources. We have certified lactation consultants who are also our maternal child health nurses who support moms and also encourage them to attend the breastfeeding support groups and clinics at Cape Cod and Falmouth Hospitals.”
Many moms at the gathering took advantage of some “me time” for a massage or Reiki session during the celebration, while staff welcomed the opportunity to hold their babies. Alissa Krieger-DeWitt, RN, CCH childbirth educator, hosted a footprints card-making station where moms could get their baby’s footprints imprinted on a beautiful card to take home.
More information about joining a Cape Cod Healthcare breastfeeding support group or for an outpatient lactation appointment is available by calling 508-862-5156.
Information about the VNA of Cape Cod prenatal and postpartum clinical services is available by calling 508-957-7423.
Originally published on Cape Cod Health News, August 19, 2025