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:
- Refining and upholding the standards/criteria for successfully implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding in the US;
- Assessing and accrediting birthing facilities that meet those standards and follow the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes; and
- Generating widespread understanding of and enthusiasm for best practice infant feeding care.
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:
- Refining and upholding the standards/criteria for successfully implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding in the US
- Assessing and accrediting birthing facilities that meet those standards and follow the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes
- Generating widespread understanding of and enthusiasm for best practice infant feeding care
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What’s New
What Does It Take to Sustain Baby-Friendly Designation for 25+ Years?
“The 10 Steps were a way to standardize our practice across the unit and across the hospital, because there was basically nothing back then. We were really building it from scratch.” Sharon Baker, Read more
Addressing Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Breastfeeding Through Community and Hospital-Based Approaches
Baby-Friendly USA encourages you to watch this informative "Breastfeeding Grand Rounds" webcast sponsored by the University at Albany School of Public Health, in partnership with the New York State Department of Health's WIC program. Read more
Entire NYC Health + Hospitals System Is Baby-Friendly After Kings County Designation
The key members of the Baby-Friendly team at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County in Brooklyn, NY, remember with fondness the moment they heard the news that their facility had finally achieved Baby-Friendly designation in Read more
Cape Cod Hospital Perseveres to Achieve Baby-Friendly Designation
“We were 10 days from our assessment date when COVID shut everything down.” That’s how Heather Lakatos, one of Cape Cod Hospital’s Lactation Consultants remembers the first of several unexpected hurdles she and the Read more
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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Baby-Friendly practices are now mainstream and have achieved wide enough coverage to have a significant impact on breastfeeding rates across the US.”
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