Breastmilk and the intimacy of nursing is of immeasurable value for the child. For an even better nursing process for the mothers, East Tallinn Central Hospital opened a breastfeeding counselling office in the Järve unit as well.
As a baby-friendly hospital, breastfeeding is of high importance in East Tallinn Central Hospital and therefore we are particularly keen on trying to support all mothers in every way to start breastfeeding as smoothly as possible. For the most part, breastfeeding goes without a hitch from the very first days onwards, but sometimes it does take learning and practice. For this purpose, East Tallinn Central Hospital offers topical family school lectures as well as the breastfeeding counselling offices in question.
According to Head Breastfeeding Counsellor Ada Vahtrik, it is completely natural for new mothers to need breastfeeding counselling and support, but wants to stress that if any problems arise, you should definitely contact the breastfeeding counselling office. “Breastfeeding is the best way to ensure good health for yourself as well as for your baby. Children who get breastmilk suffer much less often from allergies, ear infections, diabetes and other diseases,” Ada Vahtrik describes. “If children were solely breastfed for six months all over the world, there would be two times fewer instances of breast cancer!” Vahtrik states.
Mothers may come to the breastfeeding counselling office with any questions regarding breastfeeding – the state of breast, painfulness, the baby’s behavior during breastfeeding, issues of weight gain, giving age-appropriate additional food, weaning, etc. All counselling midwives have undergone special training. In addition, counselling is free for all and available in Estonian, Russian as well as English.
To further improve families’ opportunities in visiting a breastfeeding counsellor, East Tallinn Central Hospital opened a new counselling office at the Järve unit (Energia 8) as well. This way, people who live in Nõmme, Mustamäe and other places far from the city centre do not necessarily have to drive all the way to Ravi Street. According to Ada Vahtrik, opening the office at Järve provides more opportunities. “Now we can counsel over the phone on two numbers, 620 7453 and 606 7606, and a lot more appointment times will be added. Visiting the office is logistically convenient and parking is free,” Ada says about the advantages of the new office.
The new breastfeeding counselling office is located on the ground floor of the Järve unit of East Tallinn Central Hospital, at Energia 8. The other counselling office will continue work at the Ravi Street unit on the ground floor of the maternity hospital. Offices are open Monday to Thursday 9 AM to 5 PM and on Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM. Counselling is also available over the phone. You can register for an appointment and for counselling over the phone at 666 1900.