Baby-Friendly Hospitals
Protecting a Mother's Feeding Choice
All pregnant mothers will come to a point in their pregnancy when they make the choice as to how they will choose to feed their infant after birth. All information available on the benefits of human milk for human infants is explored and weighed. The same is true for the choice of formulas, as to the benefits and risks. All feeding decisions are personal and so, a mother takes many variables into consideration, after which, she can then make an informed choice as to what is best her infant and her family.
Whichever choice a mother makes, the healthcare facility in which she delivers her child must strive to meet her choice and to meet her goal of being discharged home with that choice intact. A Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative meets her feeding choice goal. Baby-Friendly USA was formed to administer the World Health Organization and UNICEF international guidelines to support and protect a mother’s choice to breastfeed. Encouraging and recommending full assistance, education, and support to mothers choosing formula feedings is incorporated into this initiative as well. Hospital or freestanding birth centers that have been officially designated as Baby-Friendly integrate the WHO/UNICEF 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding into its daily best practices.
10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
- Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff
- Train all health care staff in the skills necessary to implement this policy
- Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding
- Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth
- Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if separated from their infants
- Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated
- Practice rooming-in, allow mothers 7 infants to remain together, 24 hours a day
- Encourage breastfeeding on demand
- Give no artificial teats or pacifiers to breastfeeding infants
- Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge
All mothers, their infants and families greatly benefit from a well trained staff who roll up their sleeves to help mothers off to a good start, to know & recognize a good breastfeeding, and to know their infant is receiving adequate amounts of nutrition before being on their own at home.
Parents who deliver at these facilities are afforded the time and education to identify their infant’s hunger cues, to provide for their infant’s physical care, to have their very important questions answered, and to participate in their infant’s safety—all with the practice of rooming-in. All mothers and infants benefit with the 10 steps, an officially designated Baby-Friendly Hospital works harder to ensure you meet your feeding goals.