Lactation Consultants in Rapid City and Spearfish consist of registered nurses who are International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC). Lactation consultants provide education and support for parents who choose to breastfeed their infant(s). Achieving IBCLC status requires specialty education and extensive practical experience working with breastfeeding mothers before taking and successfully passing a university-level certification exam. Monument Health’s standard of providing lactation consultants with IBCLC status assures you will have the highest level of expertise available.
In Rapid City:
Lactation Services in the Rapid City Hospital offers inpatient services Monday-Saturday from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and Sunday 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Outpatient service hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Call 605-755-8494 if you have questions or need further information.
In Spearfish:
Lactation consultants are available at Spearfish Hospital Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 605-644-4319 to make an appointment.
What we provide:
- Breastfeeding Support Groups
- Instruction and support following delivery
- Breastfeeding support for infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- Assistance for breastfeeding mothers during any hospitalization
- Resources and information on breast pumps and breastfeeding accessories
- Education and support for health care providers
- Outpatient services for breastfeeding support after discharge from the hospital
Benefits of Breastfeeding
The American Academy of Pediatrics stated in its 1997 policy statement on breastfeeding that “Human milk is uniquely superior for infant feeding and is species-specific; all substitute feeding options differ markedly from it. The breastfed infant is the reference or normative model against which all alternative feeding methods must be measured with regard to growth, health, development and all other short- and long-term outcomes.”
Benefits to infants:
- Protective effects against or decreased incidence and/or severity of:
- Diarrhea
- Lower respiratory infections (i.e. RSV)
- Otitis media (middle ear infections)
- Bacteremia (bacterial infection in the blood)
- Botulism (a severe form of food poisoning)
- Urinary tract infections
- Bacterial meningitis
- Diabetes
- Necrotizing enterocolitis (severe bowel infection usually found in premature infants)
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Crohn’s disease (an inflammatory bowel disease)
- Ulcerative colitis (chronic digestive disease)
- Lymphoma and other childhood cancers
- Allergies
- Metabolic diseases
- Childhood obesity
- Enhanced immune response to vaccines
- Enhanced cognitive development – hight IQ scores (an average of 8.5 points higher)
- Fewer cavities, better jaw development, and fewer orthodontic problems later in life, according to the American Dental Association.
Benefits to mothers:
- Less uterine bleeding after birth
- Delayed resumption of ovulation and optimal child spacing
- Protection against postmenopausal osteoporosis (i.e. hip fractures)
- Decreased risk of ovarian and breast cancer
- Assistance with weight loss after birth
- Improved glucose metabolism and reduced insulin requirements for diabetic mothers
