Keeping Breastfeeding Traditions Alive in the Zuni Tribe
Located in the heart of the Pueblo of Zuni community, the Zuni Comprehensive Community Health Center in Zuni, New Mexico is the primary health care facility for residents of the reservation and beyond. Operated by the Indian Health Service (IHS), the Health Center is a small, resource-challenged facility catering to the unique healthcare needs of its local tribal community.
But when it came time for the Health Center to seek redesignation as a Baby-Friendly facility, there was never a question that they would take the steps necessary to retain their designation. The only question was how to muster the resources needed to successfully complete the rigorous redesignation process.
“We know the outcomes are better, that it’s for the best for the baby,” says Rachel Trippett, MD, the Women’s Health/Obstetrics Director who is the latest in a long line of Baby-Friendly champions at the Health Center. “This community already suffers so much disproportionately. Why would we want to compound that by not upholding evidence-based medicine? We’re trying to uplift the community, make them healthier, more independent.”
Dr. Trippett was the driving force behind the Health Center’s redesignation process. She came to the Health Center eight years ago from her residency training in Family Medicine at Brown University and never left. While not a member of the Zuni tribe, she says she feels like she’s welcomed and included as part of the community. In fact, she delivered her own son, Henry, at the Health Center two years ago.
“Once I got here, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is where I belong,’” she says. “So, I changed my life plan and brought my family here. It’s worked out very well.”
Dr. Trippett says the facility is proud of its Baby-Friendly designation.
“We were the first hospital in the state to become Baby-Friendly designated (in 2013), so we have a lot of pride in that,” she says. “And, you know, it puts us on the map, this small, out-of-the-way place.”
This pride is more than evident in these images:
As a small facility with only 30-40 live births per year, the Health Center struggled to line up the resources necessary for the redesignation process. Most of the burden fell on Dr. Trippett. But she was undeterred and felt well supported by BFUSA staff throughout the process.
“When I would ask someone at BFUSA for help, it really seemed like they were on my side, that they were an ally, and that they could sympathize with how overwhelming it can be,” she says. “They helped me break it down and answered specific questions with timely follow up. When I felt somewhat alone in the responsibility, that was the support I needed.”
Another person who bears a lot of the responsibility is Lynelle Besselente, the WIC Technician who provides breastfeeding support for the Zuni community.
“Lynelle is the practical leader of Baby-Friendly from the community’s standpoint,” says Dr. Trippett. “I think they hear things from her that they may not really hear from me.”
Lynelle is a Zuni woman with three kids whom she breastfed and a dozen years of experience as WIC’s breastfeeding peer counselor. She speaks both Zuni and English, and her unique position enables her to understand how breastfeeding and Baby-Friendly align with the Zuni culture.
“We really encourage breastfeeding for Zuni because it’s our tradition,” Lynelle says. “We’re trying to make it a norm within the community again by helping them understand we used to do it this way back in the day and we have to pick it back up.”
Lynelle and the team at WIC provide invaluable support to mothers once they leave the hospital. Dr. Trippet refers to Lynelle as a “superstar.”
“I frequently hear people in the community say, ‘If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have breastfed. If it wasn’t for you making this visit, I probably would have been using formula,’” says Lynelle. “Those little thank-yous let me know we’ve made an impact.”
There’s no doubt she and Dr. Trippett agree about that.
