NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens participates in “Global Big Latch On” breastfeeding event and celebrates three-year baby-friendly designation with ribbon-cutting for new breastfeeding pod

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New Lactation Suite Designed to Accommodate Moms on the Go

NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens will celebrate World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 through 7) by participating in the Global Big Latch On and cutting the ribbon for its new Mamava Breastfeeding Pod, a modular lactation suite designed to accommodate breastfeeding moms on the go and a gift from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Big Latch On is a synchronized breastfeeding event held in multiple locations throughout the world where women gather to breastfeed and offer each other support. This is the third year NYC Health +
Hospitals/Queens has taken part in the event, coinciding with the third anniversary of the hospital achieving Baby-Friendly Designation by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2014. A raffle will be held for participating moms during the event; following the Latch On, breastfeeding moms can participate in a photo-op during the ribbon-cutting of the new lactation suite.

The addition of the Mamava Breastfeeding Pod demonstrates NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens’ ongoing commitment to furthering the Baby-Friendly goals of maintaining and enhancing optimum levels of breastfeeding support as well as creating a supportive environment for maternal-infant bonding. In addition to our commitment to support a mother’s right to breastfeed in public, this state-of-the-art modular suite will provide breastfeeding mothers with a private, clean, relaxing and dignified place to pump/nurse their babies.

A freestanding lactation suite, the Mamava Breastfeeding Pod is the debut product of Mamava, a company dedicated to transforming the culture of breastfeeding. The Mamava suite is a selfcontained, mobile pod with comfortable benches, a fold-down table, an electrical outlet for plugging in a breast pump, and a door that can be locked for privacy. The four-by-eight foot pod is meant for individual use, but can fit more than one person, as well as mothers with babies and other children in tow.

“The arrival of the Mamava Breastfeeding Pod here at Queens is a timely complement in light of our three-year status as a Baby-Friendly Hospital, and the fact that during that time we’ve successfully managed to sustain an environment that promotes exclusive breastfeeding,” said Chris Roker, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens. “Having and maintaining this suite is one more way for us to validate the importance of promoting and encouraging breastfeeding as establishing the best start in life for our newborns. We want to provide a comfortable environment for moms who choose to breastfeed, knowing that by doing so they are lowering their children’s risks for certain diseases and improving outcomes for themselves and their babies. And we also invite all working moms within our community to come and take advantage of this option located right in our hospital lobby.”

NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens achieved Baby-Friendly Designation in May 2014 by BabyFriendly USA, Inc., the accrediting body and national authority for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in the United States. Queens was selected by the NYC Department of Health to receive one of the six Mamava units purchased by the agency due to our ability to maintain the highest exclusive breastfeeding rates as members of the DOH collaborative.

“It has been a great pleasure and privilege to have worked together with the NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Maternal-Child Services physicians and nurses over the past nine years, as well as the NYC Department of Health Breastfeeding Collaborative over the past four years, to help transform the culture in our hospital and community,” said Marcy Stein Albert, MD, Director of Pediatrics at Queens. “Through education of all staff and patients – and by making breastfeeding a priority in our workflows and in the design of our physical plant – we have been successful in reestablishing breastfeeding as the normative way to nourish newborns and infants. There is still much important work to do as we continue to address barriers to breastfeeding in the community and expand our efforts to move the needle on population health.”

Since first becoming available, Mamava suites have been installed in airports, stadiums, convention centers, hospitals, and schools throughout the United States. All Mamava suites come with a multifunctional mechanical SmartLock with Bluetooth to provide security and usage data. They are equipped with an AC and USB power outlet enabling moms to charge their phones, power their breast pumps, and plug in their iPads as well. Each suite has one folddown table for a breast pump and two benches.

About Mamava
Based in Burlington, Vermont, Mamava is the expert in lactation space design, thoughfully designing solutions for breastfeeding moms on the go. With both analog and digital products, Mamava products celebrate and support the 21st century breastfeeding mama. Mamava is mama-owned, made in America, and a proud member of the B Corp community. The Mamava app, free for iOS and Android, helps moms find pumping- and breastfeeding-friendly locations on-the-go, unlock Mamava suites through the proprietary Mamava Smart Lock, and find useful breastfeeding content. For more information, visit www.mamava.com

About NYC Health + Hospitals
11 hospitals, trauma centers, neighborhood health centers, nursing homes, and post-acute care centers. We are a home care agency and a health plan, MetroPlus. Our health system provides essential services to more than one million New Yorkers every year in more than 70 locations across the city’s five boroughs. Our diverse workforce of more than 42,000 employees is uniquely NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation. We are a network of focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. Visit us at nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook at facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or Twitter at @NYCHealthSystem

About NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
A member of NYC Health and Hospitals, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens is a major health care provider in the borough of Queens. Its foremost mission is to provide quality, comprehensive care to all members of the public regardless of their ability to pay. The year 2015 marked its 80th anniversary of serving the communities of central and southeastern Queens, having first opened its doors as Queens General Hospital in 1935. Encompassing 360,000 square feet, it comprises 253 licensed beds, spacious ambulatory care suites featuring both primary and specialty services, and cutting-edge equipment. It also houses four Centers of Excellence: Cancer Care, Diabetes Management, Women’s Health, and Behavioral Health. To learn more about NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, visit nychealthandhospitals.org/queens