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 SHOULD Happen With Rooming-In
Step 7 of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding calls for facilities to “enable mothers and their infants to remain together and to practice rooming-in 24 hours a day.” Regardless of whether a motherRead more
What SHOULD Happen When a Mother Who Planned to Breastfeed Asks for Formula
“The best laid plans…” Things don’t always go as planned for moms who enter the hospital with a goal of breastfeeding their infant. Sometimes the mom and baby initially struggle with breastfeeding. Some popularRead more
UNC Hospitals – Chapel Hill First to Be Successfully Assessed on New Step 2 Competencies
When Debbie Gordon, MSN, RN, IBCLC, joined the UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill as Manager of Lactation Services in September 2021, her primary mandate was to lead the UNC team through a successful Baby-FriendlyRead more
Authors of Three-Paper Series in The Lancet Call for End to Exploitative Marketing of Formula
BFUSA would like to draw your attention to the excellent presentations and panel discussion which supported the launch of a three-paper series in The Lancet, in which the authors collectively argue that breastfeeding isRead more
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