T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Belmont County Commissioner Vince Gianangeli from left, Belmont County WIC Department Director Lori DeCoy, Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann, Belmont County WIC Department Breastfeeding Peer Helper Krysila Baratie, and Commissioner J.P. Dutton pose with the proclamation declaring August to be Breastfeeding Awareness Month.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County Board of Commissioners declared August as Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and county officials touted breastfeeding’s benefits at its latest meeting.

Belmont County WIC Department Director Lori DeCoy and Breastfeeding Peer Helper Krysila Baratie were in attendance at the board’s regularly scheduled Wednesday morning meeting and spoke about the importance of raising awareness about breastfeeding.

Decoy said her team promotes breastfeeding as much as they can throughout the entire year, not just the month of August.

“All of the women that come into the office that are pregnant, we always try to encourage them to at least try to breastfeed,” she said. “We encourage at least the first one to two weeks to give it a try, so that the babies can receive the colostrum.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, colostrum is a thick, yellowish-white fluid which can be expressed from the breast by the third trimester. Milk secretion is suppressed during pregnancy by estrogen and progesterone. Colostrum has more protein and fewer carbohydrates and fat than mature breast milk

Baratie added that breast milk is beneficial, especially the first colostrum.

Decoy said that she understands not everyone can breastfeed and she supports all parents regardless if they chose to breastfeed or not. But she believes informing parents about the benefits of breastfeeding gives her a chance to educate parents more and to let them know that they don’t have to continuously put the baby to breast.

“You can do a little bit of both, you can do bottle, you can do breast, or you can supplement the formula as well. So we give them all kinds of education on how they can continue their journey, whether they’re going to breastfeed, supplement, or do a little bit of both pumping and putting the baby to breast,” Decoy said.

She added that a lot of the younger moms aren’t quite sure, because they believe that they have to do one or the other.

“Our goal is to explain that they can do a little bit of both, so the baby benefits even if it gets a little bit of breast milk versus none at all,” Decoy said.

She added that Ohio has its own breastfeeding hotline number, 888-588-342, and is available 24/7 for anyone needing assistance.

“That’s nice that Ohio has a number for the breastfeeding people, so that they can call them anytime, day or night, and have an expert on the line waiting at any moment to try to walk them off a ledge or help them with any problems that they’re having at any hour of the night,” Decoy said.

Commissioner J.P. Dutton thanked Decoy and Baratie for speaking about the importance of breastfeeding. He said that it was a little off topic, but WIC is part of the Belmont County Health Department and will have a carved out space at the future Health Department building on Route 331 in Bannock.

He asked her if she could touch on how her department will be potentially utilizing the new space.

Decoy said that she doesn’t want to be a “Debbie Downer,” but she is worried about her department moving away from the riverfront to Bannock. She said she is very much looking forward to moving into the health department and very appreciative of the space. Her concern is that a majority of her department’s caseload is close to the river.

“The problem for us is our girls have transportation issues all of the time, even getting to the office in Bellaire,” Decoy said.

Commissioner Vince Gianangeli asked if the individuals who struggle with transportation have Medicaid because if they do, transportation can be provided to them. Decoy replied that they do, but transportation provided by Bel-O-Mar has become a hassle.

“They schedule ahead and get dropped off. Then once they get dropped off, transportation goes away, and then they have to come again. We have moms that sit for over an hour after their appointment when they call. So that is the problem with the medical insurance card,” she said.

Decoy added that transportation doesn’t go as far west as the future location of the Health Department and she worries that mothers without reliable transportation will not be able to receive WIC’s assistance.

Dutton said he has recently talked to the Community Action Commission of Belmont County about possibly expanding public transportation to the Route 331 exit. He said that not only will the Health Department be there, but Belmont Technical College, Ohio University Eastern Campus, and Belmont County Career Center are also located at the same exit and would be very beneficial for public transportation to reach those facilities.

Decoy said that she plans to also host several pop up clinics in the Bellaire area to serve mothers on the riverfront who may not be able to go to the new Health Department building.

Gianangeli then asked Decoy if or how she serves adoptive parents. She replied that there are various breastmilk banks for parents who adopt as well as for mothers whose babies are born premature in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Commissioner Jerry Echemann said that he was unaware that babies could drink breastmilk that doesn’t come from their biological mother. Decoy said a breastmilk bank is similar to a blood bank in the terms that women who can produce milk can donate it to the breastmilk bank and it will be tested and then given to the babies who need it.

Dutton then read a proclamation declaring August to be Breastfeeding Awareness Month.