At Danbury Hospital --

Mother/Baby Talk Provides

Support For New Mothers

By  Kaaren Valenta

Elizabeth Boganoff was overjoyed when she gave birth to her first child, Julia, on July 28, but she was also nervous and a little stressed.

"My husband and I had moved to Newtown at the end of May," she said. "We came here from the city (New York) and I felt like I was living in the middle of nowhere. We didn't have family or friends here. When my husband came home and found me sitting in a rocking chair, crying, we decided it was a perfect day to go to a support group!"

Mrs Boganoff joined "Mother/Baby Talk," a free postpartum group at Danbury Hospital.

"I came here two weeks after my daughter was born," she  said. '"This group has helped me not feel lost. I've met people. When you are a new mother, you don't know anything about babies. Here you can talk to other mothers."

Open to all new mothers and their babies, Mother/Baby Talk is a place where new mothers can share their concerns, learn about infant care, and make friends. It is facilitated by Dee Campbell, a registered nurse and certified lactation consultant.

"The postpartum group grew out a program that was offered in the early 90's. It was a structured class that met three times for new mothers and their babies," Ms Campbell said. "When I took over in 1995 I found that mothers needed something less structured and some needed more than what was offered in three classes."

The program evolved into a weekly support group for mothers and their babies, a place where the women could meet other new mothers and share questions and concerns about infant care, breast-feeding and other postpartum issues that arise during the unpredictable weeks and months following birth.

"They discover that a lot of postpartum fears and concerns they have, other mothers have too -- and there's nothing wrong with it," Ms Campbell said.

Raising babies today is different than in previous generations, she explained.

"For example, research into SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) has shown that (to lower the risk)  babies must sleep on their backs.  But they don't sleep well in this position. Mothers want to know what they can do to cope with babies that aren't sleeping well. "

The American Academy of Pediatrics also has changed its recommendations on feeding infants and now says that food should not be introduced until the second six months to reduce the risk of food sensitivities and allergies, she said.

"There's also the question of car seats -- which models are safe and are they installed correctly. There are many federal rules and regulations on product safety, there are work issues. Previous generations didn't have to deal with all of these issues," she said.

"Mothers today are pioneers in how to function in today's go-go culture. Most don't have a lot of support from families. Many worked until shortly before the baby was born so they don't have a circle of friends with infants and young children. Many plan to go back to work soon and have questions about breast-feeding. There are a lot of self-doubts, so the postpartum classes are a good place to come -- a safe place to bring their questions," she said.

"My goal is to get them to know each other and to form their own networks of friends. They've done exactly that. A lot of the mothers reconvene with their babies at the mall after the morning class, eat at the food court, walk and shop. It's neutral territory.  Sometimes they meet at parks and bring their lunch. As they are more confident, they form playgroups that meet in members' homes."

When the original postpartum group at Danbury Hospital grew so large, with babies at different stages of development, Ms Campbell decided to split it. Now there are three groups that meet weekly: mothers with infants from birth to three months, three to nine months, and over nine months.

"These aren't playgroups," Ms Campbell said. "It is a time for mothers to ask questions. At the end of the meeting we weigh the babies to track them and see how things are going. Now some of the women are having second babies, and I'm considering a group for them because there are different issues the second time around.  It's not so much that you don't know what to expect, you need to find ways to do it."

Barbara Gaines and Tina Fiorella met at the class at Danbury Hospital after their first babies were born. When six women in their group had a second baby less than two years later, they formed a playgroup that meets weekly at Mrs Gaines' house in Sandy Hook.  Barbara Gaines also leads the postpartum class at Danbury Hospital when Dee Campbell is away.

Chris Liberante of Newtown, the mother of Marissa, 2, and Michael, almost 8 months, said she really didn't pay much attention to the information that that Danbury Hospital gave her until after she got home with her first baby.

"Then I had some problems with nursing so I called," she said. "I also found that I had to get out of the house. I don't know what I would have done without the group."

Besides the weekly support groups, Danbury Hospital's Family Birth Center also offers classes in baby care basics (grandparents are welcome to attend), breastfeeding, Moms in Motion (aerobics for pregnant women), the Bradley childbirth preparation method, Lamaze, a sibling class to help prepare young children for the birth of a new baby, and many other programs. For more information call 778-BABY. For information on Mother/Baby Talk, call 797-7093.