Discovery

Learn about the D1 Discovery Phase

Development

Learn about the D2 Development Phase

Dissemination

Learn about the D3 Dissemination Phase

Designation

Learn about the D4 Designation Phase

Sustainability

Learn about the Sustainability Phase

The D3: Dissemination Phase is the “implementing phase” of the 4-D Pathway.

Your facility will enter the Dissemination Phase after successfully completing all six tasks of the Development Phase and submitting the Dissemination Phase fee to Baby-Friendly USA (BFUSA). At that time, BFUSA will provide your facility a Development Phase Certificate of Completion and access to the online Dissemination Phase Tool Kit.

The Dissemination Phase fee covers your facility for up to one year in the phase. During this time your facility will roll out the infant feeding policy and all Development Phase plans. You will need to disseminate information about the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) to staff and patients as you roll out your Development Phase plans.

BFUSA is available to answer questions from your facility about moving through this phase of the Baby-Friendly process. The online Dissemination Phase Tool Kit contains a series of tools to use in implementing your training and quality improvement processes.

Nurse in a Baby-Friendly Facility

Download Everyone Plays a Role, a presentation that will help you to prepare your team.

D3 Pathway - Baby Friendly USA

One of the major goals of the Dissemination Phase is to impart information about the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) to facility staff.

Components of staff training include:

  1. Orient all staff and providers to the facility’s position on breastfeeding and the infant feeding resources available in the facility.
  2. Orient all departments impacted by the BFHI.
  3. Train all maternity care staff and providers on the policies developed/revised during the Development Phase.
  4. Train maternity care staff and providers according to the requirements found in the Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria.
  5. Verify competencies for all maternity care staff.
  6. Document initial training, verification of staff competencies, and annual breastfeeding continuing education for all maternity care staff.

Evidence-based training is essential to ensure that all staff members providing direct care to mothers and infants have the knowledge and skills necessary to safely and effectively implement the care practices included in the infant feeding policy.

Once staff have been trained and competencies have been verified, you are then ready to roll out the new or updated infant feeding policy and prenatal/post-partum patient education plans. Remember your updated infant feeding policy is comprehensive and inclusive of many aspects. All components should not be rolled out at one time. This may be overwhelming to staff and could lead to unsafe implementation of practices. It is always wise to make small, incremental changes to build staff confidence. It is best to choose a change for which you can have an early success. This will help inspire the staff, and prepare them for the tougher challenges.

Another key component of the BFHI that facilities must address is to document and implement payment of fair market price for all breast milk substitutes, bottles, nipples, pacifiers, and other infant feeding equipment. Success in this area requires that you identify your fair market price for these products, document your process for determining fair market price, notify vendors of your intent to pay fair market price for these items, and maintain current invoices on file and proof that your facility is paying fair market price for these products. The online Tool Kit has resources to assist your facility in accomplishing this Baby-Friendly standard.

This should begin immediately and be on-going throughout the Dissemination Phase.

Data collection and evaluation are the foundation of a robust quality improvement program. The goal is to establish the baseline for designing a quality improvement program that informs your facility as to your progress towards meeting all of the benchmarks outlined in the Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria. It is not only critical to the successful implementation of the practices outlined in the Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria but also to the continued sustainability of those practices.

As detailed in the online Dissemination Phase Tool Kit, you should collect data from patient charts and audits of maternity care practices that impact breastfeeding.

Movement to the Designation Phase

A “Request to Move Letter” should be submitted when data from your quality improvement audits indicates your facility is meeting, or nearly meeting the standards outlined in the Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria.

The “Request to Move Letter” should be sent to BFUSA at approximately 10 months into the Dissemination Phase. Your facility will then be sent an invoice for the Designation Phase fee.

When BFUSA has both the “Request to Move Letter” and payment of the Designation Phase fee, your facility will be mailed a Dissemination Phase Certificate of Completion and provided with the online Designation Phase Tool Kit. (Facilities wishing to move  faster may submit the “Request to Move Letter” ahead of the time line and receive the Designation Phase fee invoice sooner than 10 months.

Receipt of the Dissemination Phase Certificate of Completion acknowledges your facility’s enrollment into the D4: Designation Phase of the 4-D pathway.

Please note: Facilities that have not submitted the request to move into the Designation Phase within 10 months of their entry into the Dissemination Phase will be invoiced for a second year in the Dissemination Phase.

Additional Time in the Phase

Be aware that every facility faces different challenges. Some find it necessary to take longer than the timelines outlined here to fully implement the tasks of the phase. If your facility is in this situation, you should not feel discouraged. The culture change you are making is enormous and sometimes requires additional time. If this is your circumstance, contact BFUSA to learn about your options.