We are Here for Breastfeeding Moms and Babies
Whether you’re newly pregnant or nearing delivery day, you look forward to meeting your little one face-to-face. Breastfeeding your newborn is a special and intimate experience as mother and infant bond.
From making birth plans to your first feeding and after you take your newborn home, you’ll have many questions and concerns. At Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, you’re served by experts who are international board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) specialists. You can trust them for all the answers, guidance and support you and your baby deserve.
Our lactation counselors can answer any question about breastfeeding and lactation. We’ll help you to feel confident and fully supported as you breastfeed. We want you and your baby to have a happy, healthy and nourishing start in your new life together.
Tender Care Available to You – Wherever Your Baby Is Born
Lactation counselors at Spartanburg Medical Center offer inpatient care and outpatient services for mothers who want to breastfeed, regardless of where you deliver your baby. Whether it’s your first time or you just want a little help, we’re available 24/7. Spartanburg Regional also offers telehealth services. You can talk with a consultant by video from the comfort of home. Reach out to us anytime for answers or to schedule an appointment. Call 864-560-2297.
Nourishing Care from Day One
Your newborn will need a steady, healthy supply of nourishing natural breast milk. Breastfeeding helps mothers and babies by:
- Providing balanced and essential nutrition
- Preventing infection and illness
- Strengthening immunity
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Offering physical and emotional benefits
If you deliver your baby at Spartanburg Medical Center, your nurse will arrange for a lactation consultant to visit you in your hospital room. However, you are also welcome to meet with a consultant earlier in your pregnancy.
What to Expect from Your Lactation Consultant
During your first visit with a lactation consultant, you’ll discuss your plans and concerns. You and your baby will have a full assessment within 24 hours after childbirth. Your lactation consultant will identify anything that might limit your baby’s ability to latch or get sufficient breast milk and nutrition. Your consultant may screen for and discuss issues that could affect breastfeeding success. Those may include:
- Baby’s condition, including mouth and oral health
- Flat or inverted nipples
- Medications or supplements
- Health conditions such as PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), which affects milk production, thyroid disease, yeast infections
- Previous breast surgery or breast cancer
If needed, your consultant will refer you to your doctor, a specialist or your child’s pediatrician for follow-up. Your care may include a customized, postpartum feeding plan and follow-up consultations with your lactation specialist for a week or two.
You’ll have discreet, caring and personalized assistance the day your newborn arrives. Our educational services include assistance with breast pumping, which can help to:
- Maintain or increase milk supply
- Relieve pressure from full breasts or clogged milk ducts
- Reverse flat or inverted nipples so baby can latch more easily
- Express, store and use breast milk
Smart Breast Pumps and Other Assistance and Amenities
If you deliver at Spartanburg Medical Center, you’ll get a hospital-grade breast pump to use during your stay. Using high-quality equipment makes pumping breast milk more productive, efficient, convenient and comfortable for you.
Most insurers cover the cost of a pump that you can use after you go home. If your infant is born prematurely or needs to stay in NICU for monitoring, you’ll have a hospital-grade pump to use at the hospital and you can take it with you when you and your infant go home.
Precise Scales to Weigh Your Baby at Home
Every ounce matters when a baby needs nutrients! Accurate scales help monitor baby’s weight to ensure healthy development and growth. We provide you with hospital-grade scales to use at home. You can measure and report your baby’s precise weight changes under the guidance of your lactation consultant.
Boutique Basics, from Bras to Pumping Essentials
If there’s anything you need, just ask. Some basics – such as nursing bras and Medela breast pump parts – are available in our intimate boutique at Spartanburg Medical Center. If it’s not available in our boutique, we’ll help you find what you need.
Breastfeeding Classes
Spartanburg Regional offers classes to help you prepare for your infant’s arrival and care.
Your spouse or support person is welcome to join you in these classes:
Breastfeeding Class
This online class is helpful for new or experienced mothers. It’s taught by a lactation consultant who has specialized training, including IBCLC certification. Learn the latest, including problem-solving tips for successful breastfeeding. Topics include:
- Breastfeeding benefits
- Milk production
- Milk storage and transport
- Cue-based feeding
- Why positioning and latching matters
- Latching techniques
- Risks of formula supplementation
Register to attend
Breastfeeding Class
Table for Two
You’ll connect with other new moms who understand the joys and challenges of breastfeeding. Registration is required. You’re encouraged to attend when your baby is 2 weeks to six months old.
Register to attend Table for Two
Here 24/7 After You Go Home
We help moms from before birth to delivery day and beyond. We’ll support your breastfeeding experience at home or away. You can call us anytime.
Milk Depot: Prescreened Donor Milk for Moms Who Can’t Breastfeed
Some mothers with babies in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can’t produce enough milk or are unable to breastfeed for other reasons. Spartanburg Regional partners with Mother’s Milk Bank of South Carolina to get healthful human breast milk those babies need.
Human breast milk has potentially lifesaving health benefits for babies. By taking simple prequalifying steps, most mothers can participate in this program. Learn more about how to donate breast milk or ask your lactation consultant.
