Upholding the Highest Standards of Infant Feeding Care

As the accrediting body and national authority for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in the United States, Baby-Friendly USA (BFUSA) is responsible for coordinating and conducting all activities necessary to confer the prestigious Baby-Friendly® designation and ensure the widespread adoption of the BFHI in the US. We do this by:

baby diversity illustration
baby-friendly hospital illustration
pie chart illustration
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babies born each year in
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Baby-Friendly facilities in the US, representing
0%
of annual US births.

Upholding the Highest Standards of Infant Feeding Care.

As the accrediting body and national authority for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in the United States, Baby-Friendly USA (BFUSA) is responsible for coordinating and conducting all activities necessary to confer the prestigious Baby-Friendly® designation and ensure the widespread adoption of the BFHI in the US. We do this by:

baby diversity illustration
0+
Babies born each year in…
baby-friendly hospital illustration
0
Baby-Friendly facilities in the US, representing…
pie chart illustration
0%
of annual US births.

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Comments from the Front Line

“Here in West Virginia, we only have three Baby-Friendly certified hospitals. I’ll be going to one of them.”

Sarah Foster, Expectant Mother in West Virginia

“The Baby-Friendly experience has really helped us drive our evidence-based practice and assure our patients that we are practicing to the highest standards. We’re affecting not only the health of this generation, but generations to come. It’s very exciting and empowering.”

Angela Hammett, Community Education Manager at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, LA

“We have some serious healthcare issues in our state and we knew increased breastfeeding could have a positive impact in these areas. So, our management made the bold and important decision that we were going to encourage a commitment to the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.”

Sarah Broom, MD, Medical Director for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi

“The moment I tried it, she latched on, no problem. It’s like she knew what she wanted. So that’s how I ended up breastfeeding. Everything I needed to know about breastfeeding, they helped me 100 percent. I’m glad I did it because there’s a lot of benefits from it.”

Tiesha Lee, recent patient at South Sunflower County Hospital in Indianola, Mississippi

“The delivery setting is vital to a good start in breastfeeding. Since breastfeeding improves health in so many ways, the impact of this effort on our population’s health is yet to be fully appreciated.”

Lori Feldman-Winter, MD, MPH, incoming Chair of the Section on Breastfeeding for the American Academy of Pediatrics

“Baby-Friendly practices are now mainstream and have achieved wide enough coverage to have a significant impact on breastfeeding rates across the US.”

Mona Liza Hamlin, MSN, RN, IBCLC, Chair of the United States Breastfeeding Committee