Baby-Friendly USA announced that Glendale Memorial Hospital and
Health Center has received prestigious international recognition as a
Baby-Friendly birth facility.
The Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles commends Glendale
Memorial Hospital and Health Center for being the first birth facility in
Los Angeles County to achieve this recognition of evidence-based care of
mothers and babies.
Baby-Friendly USA is the authority for
the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (“BFHI”),
a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO)
and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The initiative
encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer
an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.
Based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, this prestigious
international award recognizes birth facilities that offer
breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed
to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.
There are more than 20,000
designated Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers worldwide. As
of August 2007, there are 59 Baby-Friendly hospitals and
birth centers in the United States.
The “Baby-Friendly” designation is given after a rigorous on-site
survey is completed. The award is maintained by continuing to
practice the Ten Steps as demonstrated by quality processes.
To view
other baby friendly birth facilities and hospitals, visit
BFHI USA.
In June
2006 the Thunder Bay District Health Unit became the first Community Health
Service in Ontario to receive designation as a “Baby-Friendly Community
Health Service” by the Breastfeeding Committee for Canada based on the World
Health Organization & United Nations Children’s Fund Baby-Friendly Hospital
Initiative prinicples. read the news release
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global campaign of the World
Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
that was initiated in 1991 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
This program recognizes hospitals and maternity facilities that offer an
optimal level of care for mothers and infants. A Baby-Friendly hospital
focuses on the needs of the newborns and empowers mothers and families to
give their infant the best possible start in life. In practical terms, a
Baby-Friendly hospital encourages and helps women to successfully initiate
and continue to breastfeed their babies, and will receive special
recognition for having done so.
Since the inception of the program, over 15,000 hospitals worldwide have
received the Baby-Friendly designation. In 2002 the Breastfeeding Committee
for Canada provided guidelines for community health care services to achieve
designation. The initiative is generally referred to as the Baby-Friendly
Initiative (BFI).
Visit site
for more details.
