第一个来的妈妈需要给她的儿子称体重。
Jack was born two weeks ago, and he’s been losing weight. His mom, Jodie, has been coming for a check every few days to make sure he starts gaining again soon.
When she walks in, Martha Pap, a registered nurse and lactation consultant with Sanford Health, greets her with a smile and immediately begins asking questions. She perches on an exercise ball, her hair pulled into a tight ponytail, and chats while Jodie takes Jack out of his pajamas.
阳光透过墙壁的窗户，摇椅、沙发和凳子摆成半圆形，一个角落里放着一张换尿布的桌子，另一个角落里放着婴儿秤。每个工作日，从上午9点到11点半，女人们络绎不绝地进出这个房间。她们保证有时间和哺乳顾问咨询问题和建议。他们保证有一个安静的地方坐一会儿，专注于做一个妈妈，要么是第一个孩子，要么是最后一个孩子，或者两者之间的某个地方。
And as they relax and settle in, they begin to talk with the other women around them, commenting on the froggy baby legs curled against one mom’s chest or the laughter of another mom who made the rookie mistake of not bringing a second onesie.
“Should we make daddy go get us one,” she cooed, until Martha reminded her the infant would be OK tucked back into the warm pajamas for the ride home.
Everyone is in some state of undress, soft furry baby shoulders tucked against a mother’s skin, tiny hands curling around a breast, eyes closed. The moms gaze down at their babies, or lay their heads back for a moment, that tiny caesura, the briefest pause where the baby is settled and mom can relax, too.
TheWorld Health Organization建议在婴儿出生后的头六个月纯母乳喂养，然后在引入其他食物后继续母乳喂养。互相支持是实现这一目标的一种方式。
This is what it looks like when women are welcomed to a room made just for breastfeeding. Where no question is too stupid, no latch is too complicated, and no one is judging you for whatever you’re trying to do.
After all, they’re all here to feed a baby.
That can take as many forms as there are moms, and Martha and Lori Johnson, another lactation consultant, know that. They counsel the women about how to add a few extra feedings to help a baby gain weight.
“Yesterday he was eating a lot,” Jodie, 28, tells Martha.
“他很机灵，扭动身体，一点也不困。晚上每三个小时就回去一次，”玛莎说。“你是个好妈妈，能来这里继续跟进这件事。”当乔迪把杰克重新安置在他的汽车座椅上时，她俯下身微笑着。整个过程中，玛莎一直在说话。她询问她的打气筒，她的汽车座椅，她在家里的支持系统。
“Make sure you’re eating and drinking regularly – especially since you aren’t sleeping,” Martha says. Jodie laughs. She says she knew she wanted to nurse her son, but she didn’t realize how much time it would take.
“我丈夫非常支持我，”她说。“我们不知道自己在做什么。”
It’s a common theme. After she leaves, there’s a lull and Martha and Lori talk about the changes they’ve seen in the nearly 30 years they’ve been nurses.
“Women are much more knowledgeable,” Lori says.
Martha agrees and says social media has helped. When a woman runs into a snag nursing, in the past someone might have told her, well, you tried. But now she can find support online to keep going. It makes new motherhood less isolating and makes the occasional challenge less daunting.
The other moms who filter in echo that.
Another woman comes in for help with her daughter’s latch. Staci, 28, of Sioux Falls, has a 2-year-old daughter and a 5-day old daughter. Something doesn’t feel right, and she wants someone to watch her and see if they can help. Lori steps in. Staci says her milk has come in, and sometimes the engorgement makes it difficult for the baby to latch. Lori tells her to hand express a little milk first, then get Rory on the nipple. It will be less engorged and the milk will be coming already, perfect for an impatient little one.
It works.
Lori brings her a cup of water and a footstool, tells Staci to put her feet up and relax. They talk about nipple shields and creams and different holds. It’s warm and clinical at the same time.
凯蒂和8天大的路易莎一起进来了。她有黄疸，凯蒂想确保她的体重增加，并得到一些建议，让她保持清醒，吃东西。凯蒂是一名护士，她知道自己想要母乳喂养，但她的弟媳们都在努力，她准备好了一条艰难的道路。
Luckily, it’s mostly been easy for her – which was a surprise. Still, everything about being a new mom is exhausting. Her husband has been home with her, and she relies on him to help, especially at night.
Like any new mom, she suddenly realizes what every other mom has gone through.
“So many more props to single moms or moms whose husbands are deployed,” Katie says. “I can’t even imagine.”
The village it takes to help these babies thrive – and these women feel confident and successful – starts at home, with friends and family, and then with groups like this that surround her with everything she needs to do her best.
The next woman in is Jenn, 36, who just moved to Sioux Falls this past summer. Her daughter Mackenzie is 6 weeks old, and this is the first time they’ve ventured out of the house together alone.
“We made it,” she says as she drops her coat next to a glider and begins taking her daughter out of her carseat. “I remembered the baby and the diaper bag and the clean diapers!”
洛莉和玛莎笑了。他们知道走出家门有多难。珍说，她花了大约45分钟把一切都准备好，孩子安顿好了，行李也打包好了。所有的女性都很感激这是一个开放的家庭形式——没有压力去预约那些不在乎你的手表显示什么——她们喜欢在感冒和流感季节可以来检查体重，而不必坐在儿科医生的办公室里。
“Is she chubbing out,” Martha exclaims over the baby girl.
“She really is,” Jenn says. “I’m just trying to figure out how to maintain the feedings.”
“我能问一下不同的护理岗位吗?”
“Did you try side-lying,” Martha returns.
“我没法让它工作，”她说。
“Try again in a month,” Martha tells her. Jenn says it just feels impossible, and Katie chimes in that it does. Lori and Martha go into teaching mode and explain exactly how to do it, and say someone might have to help the baby latch the first few times. The women listen. You can be as friendly or as quiet as you want, and nobody minds.
珍说，麦肯齐是通过体外受精怀上的，她做了剖腹产。她希望母乳喂养能顺利进行——她希望能发生一些更符合规定的事情。她说玛莎分娩的时候在医院，两天后她打电话回家，问她适应得怎么样。
“I needed that,” she says.
She’s been shocked by the access she has to experts through Sanford Health.
“I hear from friends in D.C. who are like, ‘what?’” and they can’t believe these women return calls after hours or have walk-in appointments. “I have so much information now, and my friends are asking me, ‘what did Martha say.’ She has a fan base in D.C.”
That kind of connection has helped.
“It’s so all-consuming,” she says of new motherhood. “My life is lived in three-hour increments. I’m googling things at 3 a.m. Am I doing this right? Can I see a YouTube video?”
In “Operating Instructions,” author Anne Lamott recounts the first year of her son’s life and notes that you think there’s no way you can survive it, until one day you wake up and realize you made it. It’s a sentiment echoed in this room, with these women who are doing what feels like the impossible every day.
Jenn leans back while Mackenzie nurses. Martha keeps asking questions. Lori holds a newborn up in the light, marvels at her swirl of hair and slowly rocks her while her mom gets her things together. What looks like conversation is so much more – Lori and Martha are assessing the newborns, looking for thrush and other issues, asking gentle questions of the moms, trying to root out the very beginnings of post-partum depression so they can find help.
但更重要的是，他们的脸都大开着。玛莎叫每个人“亲爱的”，让你想要拥抱她。洛莉是一个比较实际的人，但似乎总是有一个新妈妈需要的东西，在她意识到她需要它之前。
They move around the room quietly and confidently.
The light streams in. The women relax. The babies are fed.
And when everyone goes home and the lights go down, they all know they’ve done the best they could for themselves and each other and these brand new lives they’re living.
明天，他们还能再来一次。
You may also like:
- Labor nurses help ease fears for moms
- Breastfeeding a premature baby: A first-time mother’s story
- Breastfeeding basics: Getting baby to latch properly
About the New Arrival Group
Stop in and visit with infant feeding and newborn care experts. No appointment or registration necessary.
When:9-11:30 a.m. Monday-Friday
Where:Sanford Women’s Health Plaza, 5019 S. Western Ave., Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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Posted InChildren's,Health Information,Women's
