By Andrea Carrión  Diario HOY 213.237.4572 acarrion@hoyllc.com  

May 9th , 2008   Los Ángeles -- To Juana Perez there is nothing like a mother's milk. She states that she always wanted to breastfeed her children from without using formula, but due to lack of information she was unable to do it.

After giving birth to their first two sons, this Guatemalan born woman states that in the clinic, the nurses used formula instead of breast milk when babies cried. She just recently learned that she was entitled to choose to breastfeed her children, so now that she is  three months away from giving birth to her third child, Juana wants to learn more and to do so, this Wednesday she enrolled in the program Salud con Hyland's.  

This new project, launched in February of this year and consists of five Spanish-speaking health promotoras, and provides information to pregnant women in Los Angeles County and to those who recently gave birth.  

Concepcion Garcia, is one of the promotoras that covers the area of Long Beach, she explains that the chats may be conducted with a maximum of ten women as well as one on one. During the chats they explain all aspects of pregnancy; what to expect, how to care for their diet, and which vaccines babies need, among other details. In addition they are informed about their rights during their stay at the hospital and on the various programs that are available through the county to help pregnant mothers and children, regardless of their immigration status.  

"We found that the biggest barrier is language. For example, many women do not know they have the right to request a translator when they go to the clinic. Another problem is that, normally, doctors are in a hurry, so we teach mothers to be prepared for their appointments with a list of questions so that they do not forget anything, "says Garcia, 41-year-old mother of three boys and native of Sinaloa, Mexico.  

Her colleague, Pilar Hernandez, also is part of the team of educators and promoters of health and maternity. This Mexican 51-year-old explains that this information was never provided to her when she became a mother.  

"I did not know where to go and despite having health insurance I could not find anyone who spoke Spanish. During my second pregnancy I was past my due date and I would go to the hospital and be asked to return home and was never explained anything. After giving birth I was never told that I should wait a minimum of five years before getting pregnant because I had caesarean section, "explains Hernandez.”Today I see that the needs are the same, but fortunately there are programs like this to lend women a helping hand," she adds.  

Both explain that the most common fears have to do with the baby's condition, especially among younger women because they are the ones with less experience.  "One of the participants was a young girl of 19, who could not hold any food down. She was dehydrated. Because her lack of information she did not see a doctor and also because of fear of her parents who did not know that she was pregnant. This program helped her," adds Hernandez.

Salud con Hyland’s is a program that was created by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation & Leadership Training at California State University, Long Beach. It is sponsored and funded by Hyland's Inc., A leading producer of homeopathic medicine.  

In Los Angeles 65% of children being born are born to Latina women. Britt Rios-Ellis, director of the Center NCLR / CSULB, she explained that so far the program has helped about 100 women. She indicates that many of these immigrants are experiencing cultural and linguistic isolation on arrival to this country, which is why they end up getting a very poor health care.  

The contact  

For more information about this program, call 562.985.5312 or 1.800.920.5990