Breastfeeding: All the Help a Nursing Mother Needs

At VCU Medical Center, we fully support your decision to breastfeed your baby and will do everything we can to help you succeed.

We place all healthy newborns on their mother's bare chest in the first hour after birth. This skin-to-skin contact allows your baby to smell you and be close to your breast, which can make breastfeeding easier and ultimately more successful.

We also encourage you and your baby to remain together throughout your stay, a practice called “rooming-in.” You will be able to watch for your baby's cues and breastfeed “on demand," leaving the hospital feeling more confident about caring for your baby at home.

Our breastfeeding consultants are available 7 days a week and will visit you and your baby throughout your stay, offering advice and support.

Breastfeeding Warmline - (804) 828-2952

When You Go Home

Our help doesn't end when you go home.

• Our breastfeeding experts monitor the Breastfeeding Warm Line and will return your call, offering answers and advice.
• Pediatricians who are certified breastfeeding consultants are available to meet with new moms and their babies by appointment.

CHoR Breastfeeding Clinic

If you find that you need additional breastfeeding support, Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR) certified breastfeeding consultants are available to meet with you and your baby by appointment in the Breastfeeding Clinic.

Baby-Friendly: An Elite Designation

VCU Medical Center is one of an elite group of fewer than 300 hospitals across the country that has been designated Baby-Friendly by the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund.

This means that our entire staff works as one, to help you create the closest possible bond with your newborn, by guiding and supporting you in breastfeeding your baby.

Breast milk provides the perfect food for your baby and promotes brain development. Breastfeeding decreases ear infections, allergies and asthma. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to be overweight as they grow older, and are at lower risk for many diseases.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global program to encourage and recognize hospitals that offer highly trained staff and an optimal level of care for infant feeding and mother/baby bonding. Mothers who give birth at Baby-Friendly hospitals are more likely to breastfeed exclusively and to be breastfeeding still at 6 months and 1 year.

Skin-to-Skin Contact After Birth

Skin-to-skin contact is the practice of placing an undressed newborn baby on its mom's bare chest immediately after birth for at least an hour. The labor and delivery team at VCU Medical Center supports this natural approach as it has very important health benefits for both mom and baby. To learn more, check out this awesome animation!