The Family Medicine Ambulatory Care Center at Glen Cove Hospital is the first practice in Nassau County to receive the New York State Department of Health “Breastfeeding Friendly Practice” designation.
The center’s certified breastfeeding counselor, Mary Goussis, will advise mothers about breastfeeding, including best practices. The family medicine practice has also created policies and procedures to help more mothers exclusively breastfeed.
“When a mother comes for her initial prenatal exam, she is given literature about breastfeeding,” said Goussis. “Our staff also was trained to better understand the benefits of breastfeeding, which is encouraged exclusively for at least six months, if possible, to provide the most benefits to a baby.”
Breastfeeding has been shown to lower a baby’s risk of many conditions, such as obesity, ear infections and asthma, among others. It also benefits mothers by decreasing their risk of Type II diabetes as well as some forms of breast and ovarian cancers.
Glen Cove’s designation was achieved with the support of the Breastfeeding Resiliency, Empowerment, and Engagement team at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park.
For more information about the Glen Cove Family Medicine Ambulatory Care Center, call 516-674-7631.
