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, RN 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. The 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 August 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 team Read more
BFUSA Welcomes Brianna Clark as New Board Member
As a primary care physician in a rural environment, Brianna Clark, DO, MPH, CNPM, CLC, the newest member of BFUSA’s Board of Directors, encounters the full spectrum of care in her practice. “I cover ER Read more
A Life and Career Enhanced by Baby-Friendly
Natashia Conner Goes from Mom to Mother Partner to IBCLC to Health Equity Advocate We met Dr. Natashia Conner where so many people meet these days – on Facebook. In a moment of reflection during Read more
A Total Commitment to Breastfeeding at Petaluma Valley Hospital
“I would say there’s a total commitment from the team on the unit for breastfeeding. They all have a passion for breastfeeding.” That’s how Wendi Thomas, RN, MSN, Director of Nursing at Petaluma Valley Hospital, Read more
BFUSA Welcomes Casey Bland as New Board Member
Baby-Friendly USA is pleased to welcome Casey Bland, RN, MSN, as the newest member of its Board of Directors. Casey is currently serving as the Provider Quality Coordinator for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Read more
Baby-Friendly on the Local News
We at BFUSA are so impressed with the facilities that have remained steadfast in their commitment to the Baby-Friendly designation pathway during the challenges that have come with the pandemic. These facilities have been remarkably flexible Read more
New Study Finds Breastfeeding Linked to Reduced Odds of Infant Deaths in the US
BFUSA would like to bring to your attention a study recently published in Lancet by Li et al., which adds to the substantial and ever-growing evidence of the benefits of breastfeeding. While there is substantial evidence Read more
BFUSA Awards First Designations Via Virtual Assessment Process
“It was challenging, in a good way,” says Vanessa Dacey, BFUSA’s Accreditation Director. She’s speaking about the need to revamp many of BFUSA’s policies and systems when it became clear that assessors would not be able Read more
BFUSA Releases Toolkit to Bring Baby-Friendly Principles to the NICU
BFUSA is pleased to announce that we have released an important set of resources to help providers apply Baby-Friendly principles in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The BFUSA NICU Toolkit is designed to help NICUs Read more
BFUSA Releases Updated BFHI Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria
Baby-Friendly USA is excited to announce the release of the updated Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria (GEC) 6th edition, for the United States, which will apply to all Baby-Friendly designation assessment letters received on or after June Read more
Celebrating 40 Years of the Code
Forty years ago today, on May 21, 1981, the World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (the Code). Recognizing the extent to which the promotion of breastmilk substitutes was adversely Read more
Baby-Friendly in the Pandemic: Ingenuity, Flexibility, and Doing Whatever It Takes
Over the past year, BFUSA has engaged in a series of support calls with Baby-Friendly designated facilities to learn about how things have been going at the front line of care during the pandemic. We have Read more
Update from BFUSA: Virtual Assessments
Dear Colleagues, The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled all organizations and businesses to make changes, some small, some very large. At BFUSA, we have been forced to make significant changes to our core activity, hospital assessments, by Read more
Hello from Eileen FitzPatrick, BFUSA’s New CEO
Dear Colleagues, Happy New Year! I have spent my first month transitioning into the CEO position at BFUSA. I thought this was a good time to reach out to say hello to all of you. I Read more
BFUSA Welcomes Eileen FitzPatrick as New CEO
Dear Colleagues, I am very excited to inform you that, after an extensive and thorough search process, the Baby-Friendly USA Board of Directors has chosen Eileen FitzPatrick, DrPH, MPH, RDN, to be the new CEO of Read more
Update from BFUSA
Dear Colleagues, BFUSA would once again like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the thousands of dedicated healthcare workers caring for patients throughout the US during this difficult time. Thank you for all your hard work Read more
Important Information – Just in Time for World Breastfeeding Week
Welcome to World Breastfeeding Week! World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from August 1 - 7 to commemorate the Innocenti Declaration. This milestone document was signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, WHO, UNICEF and other Read more
Update on BFUSA Search for New CEO
Dear Colleagues, As we announced in May, Baby-Friendly USA CEO Trish MacEnroe will be retiring at the end of this calendar year. The BFUSA Board is conducting a national search to find her successor by this Read more
New Study: In-Hospital Formula Feeding Linked to Earlier Weaning
An important new study in the journal Pediatrics has found that in-hospital formula feeding is linked to earlier weaning from breastfeeding, with infants exposed to formula in the hospital at 2.5 to 6 times higher risk Read more
BFUSA Initiates Search for New CEO
An Important Announcement from Baby-Friendly USA Dear Colleagues, Trish MacEnroe has informed the Baby-Friendly USA (BFUSA) Board of Directors that, after more than ten years as the Executive Director/CEO of BFUSA, she will be retiring at Read more
Now More Than Ever, Baby-Friendly Facilities Must Protect Parents from Commercial Interests
Dear Colleagues, On March 26, BFUSA announced that, in order to support facilities in assisting mothers to access adequate nutrition for their babies during the COVID-19 crisis, we would relax one standard regarding the provision of Read more
Coronavirus Update #2
The entire team at Baby-Friendly USA sends our deepest gratitude to all healthcare providers, staff and first responders for the heroic work you are doing to provide incredible care to your patients. To say you are Read more
