Two public health nurses from the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department recently became certified breast-feeding educators.

Karina Jones and Carolyn Ball, both nurses in the department’s Pregnancy and Parenting Services program, received the training during a three-day clinical breast-feeding assistance workshop at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Merriam.

Certified breast-feeding educators help families achieve their breast-feeding goals by offering expertise with all phases of lactation – often during the early postpartum period – to resolve any nursing difficulties that may arise.

The department now has eight such certified educators, working with families in Pregnancy and Parenting Services and the Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Nutrition program.