SAN ANTONIO – Feeding NICU babies and high-risk infants awaiting surgery is a complicated task.
“We provide nutrition assessments to the babies at bedside,” said Rachel Jacob, registered dietician.
Jacob is one of four University Hospital dieticians who will work at a center called A Mother’s Place at the brand new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, opening Aug. 24.
“We’re going to be a centralized milk storage and prep space, along with being able to connect those moms with the services for them to be successful,” Jacob explained.
The centralized center is on the hospital’s ground floor, where moms pump milk or drop off milk at the window.
That milk will be stored and delivered to their babies when they’re ready to be fed.
There will also be an inventory system allowing for transparency.
“Moms know how much they’re dropping off, how much is being utilized in the hospital, and then how much is going to be coming home with them,” Jacob said.
For the babies with special dietary needs, their milk heads to the center’s milk lab, where measured amounts of formula are added to the breast milk.
The center is not just for moms who are still in the hospital.
“This could be a space utilized for outpatient lactation, where we can consult our lactation consultant for moms that might have questions after discharge,” Jacob said.
Though families will originally step into the consultation rooms to talk about lactation and pumping, they’re also able to have conversations about things like diet and even mental health.
“We all hear about postpartum depression and the anxiety that might present itself after delivery, especially for our NICU moms,” Jacob said.
Taking the tour of the facility alongside KSAT was Lisa Brunsvold, the interim CEO of the San Antonio Area Foundation, a philanthropic organization that has supported the community since 1964.
The foundation donated $1 million to A Mother’s Place, along with the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation.
“University Health serves as the center of health care for all of our community, but also for those that can’t afford private health care or specialist,” Brunsvold said.
She says one-of-a-kind care at A Mother’s Place should be available to everyone.
“Expanding that access to those individuals that come from ZIP codes that are in the most need,” Brunsvold said.
The center can also serve as a place for connection for families dealing with tough situations.
“I would like for them to know that if they’re up on the unit and things are overwhelming, that this is a space that they can come down to and connect with other moms as well,” Jacob said.
The access and support will hopefully ensure success for University Hospital’s littlest fighters and their families.
University Health’s new Women’s and Children’s Hospital will hold an opening ceremony and tour for the public on Saturday, July 22.
The ribbon cutting will be in the hospital lobby at 10 a.m., and the open house begins at 11 a.m. and goes until 1 p.m.
The hospital is located at 4502 Medical Drive, and parking will be available in the North Garage. Enter off Medical Drive and take the first right into the new parking garage.
Find out more about the hospital facility here.