Welcome additions to the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative

We are delighted to share three new additions to the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI):

• a new Manual on BFHI for small, sick and premature newborns;
• an updated Training Course for maternity staff; and
• a first-ever Competency Verification Toolkit.

The Toolkit and Training course will help facilities meet the 2018 Step 2 requirements to “Ensure that staff have sufficient knowledge, competence and skills to support breastfeeding.” These materials are a result of a multi-organizational collaboration that was initiated by La Leche League International, International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), World Alliance For Breastfeeding Action (WABA), and the BFHI Network of Country Coordinators in 2017.  La Leche League Leaders were deeply involved as developers of the Competency Toolkit and reviewers of the Training materials.  Reliable, caring, and trusted support from healthcare professionals, plus ongoing support from volunteers in the community, makes a huge difference to mothers and parents who want to breastfeed, especially those who give birth to small, sick or premature infants.

Ongoing competency verification and breastfeeding training for all healthcare professionals is a vital part of societal breastfeeding support. The BFHI designation increases initiation and duration of breastfeeding, and can be implemented throughout maternity care facilities globally.

Find more information about the background here Promoting-baby-friendly-hospitals.