Jane Grassley, professor emeritus and former Joanna “Jody” DeMeyer Endowed Chair in the School of Nursing, is a contributing author to an American Journal of Nursing 2023 book of the year.
The second edition of “Core Curriculum for Interdisciplinary Lactation Care” won first place in the Maternal-Child/Neonatal Nursing category. Grassley co-authored the chapter entitled “Transition to Parenthood” with Becky Spencer, an associate clinical professor in the College of Nursing at Texas Woman’s University.
“My hope is that nurses will use this chapter to think about how they launch families and the important role they can play in providing a positive and foundational experience in the hospital after birth,” Grassley said.
Grassley and Spencer wrote about how breastfeeding influences the transition to becoming parents, and how nurses can ease this process by providing consistent information, practical help and encouragement.
Grassley enjoyed writing the chapter because “it brought together a lot of my thinking that began when I was in my masters program at the University of Washington in the 1970s and that influenced my nursing practice as a mother/baby nurse,” she said. Additionally, her co-author, Spencer, was her graduate research assistant when she taught in Texas.
The American Journal of Nursing praised the book for its comprehensive content and instructional value.
It standardizes lactation education for individuals studying to become certified lactation professionals through the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. This certification is multidisciplinary, spanning not only nurses but also dieticians, physicians, peer counselors, speech pathologists and educators.
“Any clinician working in lactation care will find this textbook an invaluable reference. It is an excellent resource for clinicians preparing for the lactation consultant or lactation counselor certification examinations,” the award description said.