Neosho County Health Department’s mission is to provide a wide range of health services that have a demonstrated need in the community, giving priority to those services which are not or cannot be provided at an affordable rate by other sectors of the community. Our centerpiece is a major outreach effort to help support breastfeeding moms. Our role in breastfeeding is to assist and support the prenatal and postpartum moms through breastfeeding education to increase the overall length of time a baby is breastfed.

The Perfect 10 Project (07/01/2015 to 06/30/2017) is a two-year project that provides the best ten steps to create a solid foundation of breastfeeding education and support to all mothers and implements the CDC Guide to Strategies to Support Breastfeeding Mothers and Babies. The steps are a balance between prenatal breastfeeding education during each trimester of pregnancy and postpartum breastfeeding support that begins immediately following birth and continues throughout the first year of breastfeeding.

5 Prenatal Steps:
1. First Trimester Mom & Baby class provided by Neosho County Health Departments International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
2. Second Trimester Mom & Baby class provided by Neosho County Health Departments International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
3. Third Trimester Mom & Baby class provided by Neosho County Health Departments International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
4. The art of exclusively breastfeeding class provided by Neosho County Health Departments International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Families will create a birth plan and a baby plan to discuss with their physician.
5. Mommy & Me support group for prenatal and breastfeeding moms will meet the third Thursday of each month.

5 Postpartum Steps:
1. Appointment with our International Board Certified Lactation Consultant within 24 to 48 hours of hospital discharge.
2. Access to our International Board Certified Lactation Consultant's 24 hour breastfeeding hotline.
3. Breastfeeding resource guide given to local physicians, clinics, and given to breastfeeding moms upon hospital discharge.
4. Weight check clinic open two days a week for easy access to address problems or concerns of the breastfeeding mom.
5. Collaborative partnership with physician’s and support staff to support breastfeeding and continuity of care.

The Perfect 10 Project builds a bridge to bring a closer relationship between our community healthcare providers and institutions. The power of a great breastfeeding community begins with collaborative partnerships.

The Perfect 10 Project objective is to increase the initiation rates of breastfeeding to 84%, increase our duration rates of breastfeeding by 25% at 6 months to 35.8% (currently 28.6%), and 32.6% at one year (currently 18.1%).

There were 102 physician referrals from the Lower 8 counties for breastfeeding assistance in the first six months of 2016, 148 breastfeeding moms were helped through our after-hours hotline in the first six months, and 24 moms attended our Mommy & Me breastfeeding support group.

January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016 our progress report revealed:
- 82.7% initiation rate of breastfeeding in Neosho County
- 37.9% duration rate of breastfeeding at 3 months
- 27.6% duration rate of breastfeeding at 6 months

Physician Referrals from the Lower 8 counties for breastfeeding assistance were 102 for the first six months of 2016. 148 breastfeeding moms were helped through our after-hours hotline in the first six months. 24 moms attended our Mommy & Me breastfeeding support group.