ETMC Athens has plenty of class(es) when it comes to baby

By Toni Garrard Clay

Rhonda Hardin and her granddaughter.

Little Miss Justleigh Harrison would hardly budge from in front of the parenting information booth at ETMC Athens' Education Celebration Jan. 24. A few days short of her first birthday, Justleigh was a tad young for the Parenting 101 class offered by the hospital.

But she was exactly the right age to fixate on the life-like baby doll displayed on the table. Justleigh's grandmother, Rhonda Hardin, helped organize the information extravaganza. As an OB and breastfeeding educator, Hardin points to her granddaughter - whose primary source of nutrition continues to be from her mother - as a great example of successful breastfeeding.

"The breastfeeding education has always been important to me, starting with my own experiences," said Hardin, a registered nurse.

Hardin and Mary Wrinkle, an OB educator and case manager at ETMC Athens, both teach in-demand childbirthing classes at the hospital.

"We have great response with our childbirthing classes," said Wrinkle, "and we're just starting the others.

In an effort to get the word out about those other classes offered by the hospital, a come-and-go reception was open to the public Wednesday afternoon offering class information on:

• Pregnancy 101: Designed for pregnant women in their first trimester. This one-time class, offered the first Monday of every month, lasts two hours and covers good nutrition practices, importance of pre-natal visits, information on cord blood banking and breastfeeding.
• Childbirth Education: This class is offered to ETMC Athens patients as a five-week series to be taken at any time during pregnancy. The class covers general pregnancy, labor and delivery information.
• Milk From Moms: This breastfeeding class/support group covers a 10-week series of breastfeeding information along with open discussion on breastfeeding issues, such as the benefits of breastfeeding, how to breastfeed, feeding cues, how to know if baby is getting enough, when to add complementary foods, and problem-solving issues with breastfeeding.
• Grandparenting and sibling classes are on tap as well. Hardin said the breastfeeding classes are just gaining momentum.

"It seems like more and more women are interested in breastfeeding," she said, "but many give up after the first two weeks." Hardin attributes that trend to "a lack of knowledge about breastfeeding (and what to expect) and a lack of support, particularly among family member."

She hopes that as the participation in breastfeeding education classes increase, the success rate will also improve.

For more information on classes and scheduling, contact the OB department at ETMC Athens at 903-676-2116.