Gabriela Meza, a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor in Missouri, has just become a Certified HUG Teacher. Let's learn from her the impact of sharing HUG Your Baby ideas and resources with the mothers she serves.
When I meet with a client, I always want to make sure that they feel comfortable and heard. I want them to feel comfortable enough to want to come back and seek help in the future.
I had a visit that really stood out to me, it was over video call and mom was experiencing issues with her 4 month old. Mom had previously breastfed, but had not experienced breastfeeding issues before. I introduced myself, mom looked tired and a little discouraged. She began to tell me about what was going on. She stated baby seemed uninterested in nursing, that baby would push off breast only minutes into the feeding and look away. I went ahead and asked her if she could bring baby in on the video call, so that I could assess his body language and just see how mom interacted with baby. As soon as she picked him up, I could see mom’s eyes light up. She looked proud to show him to me and I could tell mom and baby had already began to form that special bond. It is always so special to witness that pure connection between mother and child.
During our visit I noticed baby would turn to look at the computer screen when he would hear me and when mom would speak he would quickly turn to her. I said, “I think I know what is going on here”, “baby is in the curious stage, where he is able to notice more movement and noises causing baby to become distracted when nursing”. I noticed baby began to become fussy, putting his hands to his face and rubbing his eyes. I explained to her that babies have their own little language. They let us know when they are hungry and need a diaper change, but also when they are overstimulated, distracted, tired, or need connection. I explained what the SOS signs were and the 3 zones I had her say his name a few times while holding his hands up to his chest. Baby began to calm down; it was so nice to be able to see those techniques work as well as notice a smile on moms face. Now that baby was calm I asked her where she nursed baby and if she noticed anything that could be distracting to him. She stated most of the time she nursed him in the living room with the T.V. on and at times big brother would be playing next to them. She stated she didn’t think those things would be distracting to a baby. I explained again about the changes when baby turns 4 months. I advised her to try nursing with the T.V. off or with low volume and maybe putting together a “quiet basket” for big brother to use when she nurses baby.
She looked relieved by the end of the visit, she stated she had learned so much and was eager to try the advice I gave her as well as continue using the calming techniques. I mentioned to her that I was happy to help, she then said, “This was a very important visit, I had felt discouraged to continue breastfeeding, but after visiting with you I feel confident that we can make it to our 1 year goal.”
That is one of the main reasons, why I take my job as a peer counselor so serious. We can be that small help that a parent needs; I believe it takes a village to raise a child and I feel lucky to be able to be a part of it. With the HUG Your Baby program, I have more tools to help our mothers when they need it most.
I also feel more confident in helping our parents understand their babies better. I strongly encourage others to take this course so that we can continue to help make a difference in our communities.