FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 15, 2017

Contact: Jane Lerner, Director of Strategic Communications
Office of the County Executive (845) 638-5645

Rockland County Opens First Baby Café to Encourage Breastfeeding

NEW CITY, NY — Rockland County Executive Ed Day joined county officials, community organizations and residents to celebrate the opening of the region's first Baby Café.

"We are so pleased that we were able to work with many groups to make this Baby Café a reality just a couple of months after we received a competitive $1.2 million grant to encourage breastfeeding," he said.

A ceremony was held at the Baby Café in Spring Valley shortly before the first group of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers met.

The Baby Café at 12 South Main St., Spring Valley is the first of three that will be created through the grant to encourage women to start and continue breastfeeding.

The drop-in centers are open to all pregnant and breastfeeding women so they can get information and support from trained staff and share experiences with other moms

County Executive Day also announced that work has started to transform a room that was part of the dental clinic at the former Summit Park nursing home into a lactation room for County employees and visitors.

"This work will be completed next month and as more County departments prepare to move to Building A, this very important accommodation will be available to them," he said.

This lactation room will join two others at that complex, one in Building J and one in Building D.

"Our goal is to have a dedicated space in all of our County buildings so that working moms will be able to continue to nurse their babies even after they return to the workforce," Day said.

County Executive Day was joined by Rockland Commissioner of Health Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, Laurie Messinger, a certified lactation consultant in the Rockland Department of Health, Legislators Aney Paul and Harriet Cornell.

Also attending were Cheryl Hunter-Grant and Sharen Medrano of the Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network . Representatives of other community organizations took part, including Child Care Resources of Rockland, Nyack Hospital, Crystal Run Health Care, the New York Milk Bank and others.

(pictured: Rockland County Legislator Aney Paul, Commissioner of Health Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, County Executive Ed Day, Cheryl Hunter-Grant, Sharen Medrano, Dr. Maria Mosquera.)