Baby-Friendly USA

Did you know? There are now TEN TIMES more Baby-Friendly designated facilities in the U.S. than there were in 2007! ⭐ In 2007, about 60 facilities were Baby-Friendly. Today, that number has grown to nearly 600! ⭐ In 2007, only 3% of babies were born in Baby-Friendly facilities. Today, 25% of babies are starting strong in the exceptional care of Baby-Friendly facilities! ⭐Baby-Friendly facilities are now in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Be part of the growing movement! → https://lnkd.in/eWrCjRTk #ProudToBeBabyFriendly #HospitalsMakingADifference #ExcellenceInMaternityCare #BFHI

At Baby-Friendly designated facilities, respect for every parent’s infant feeding choice isn’t just a goal—it’s a cornerstone of care. We love the way Maddy Pearson, chief nursing officer at Brigham and Women's Hospital, puts it: “While the designation is called Baby-Friendly, we are equally committed to being mother-friendly. We respect every woman’s choice about how to feed her infant and will do everything possible to support them while they are in our care.” Find a Baby-Friendly facility near you → https://lnkd.in/ednaSukQ #ProudToBeBabyFriendly #HospitalsMakingADifference #ExcellenceInMaternityCare #BFHI

Baby Friendly USA joins our international partners today in recognizing Human Rights Day, honoring the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being — regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. United around this year's theme of "Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now," we are doing our part to ensure that every infant and family has support to meet their present and future breastfeeding goals. #HumanRightsDay #OurRightsOurFutureRightNow #ProudToBeBabyFriendly

Did you know? Research shows that implementation of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative boosts breastfeeding rates — regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status! How? By: ✔️ Establishing clear, consistent infant feeding policies ✔️ Providing uniform prenatal breastfeeding education for every family ✔️ Offering personalized support to every mother during her stay, helping her initiate breastfeeding and overcome common challenges ✔️Ensuring every mother has access to ongoing breastfeeding support when she is discharged 🌟Baby-Friendly facilities: A vital part of addressing healthcare inequities in the United States. #ProudToBeBabyFriendly #HospitalsMakingADifference #ExcellenceInMaternityCare #BFHI

Kudos to SSM Health St. Mary's St. Louis!! 🎉 Being re-designated as Baby-Friendly reflects years of hard work and dedication. Your sustained efforts continue to create lasting impacts for the families and communities you serve. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor!✨ #ProudToBeBabyFriendly

Meet Christa Rudat, MSN, RN, IBCLC, Clinical Review Specialist at BFUSA! Christa brings a wealth of lived experience to her role helping facilities on their designation and re-designation journeys. Prior to joining BFUSA’s team, Christa was instrumental in leading North Baldwin Infirmary in Bay Minette, Alabama, to Baby-Friendly designation in 2017 and then re-designation in 2022. Christa: ** Has been a nurse for 21 years in pediatrics, mother baby, and nursery ** Has been an IBCLC since 2017 ** Served as a childbirth educator and lactation consultant for 9 years at North Baldwin ** Has taught future nurses at the associate degree and baccalaureate levels ** Currently serves as the Region 4 chair of the Alabama Breastfeeding Committee Christa’s passion for educating and empowering parents to achieve their infant feeding goals shines through in everything she does. We’re thrilled to have her on the BFUSA team, so that facilities and families nationwide can benefit from her expertise. Thank you, Christa, for your unwavering commitment to excellence in infant feeding care! #ProudToBeBabyFriendly #HospitalsMakingADifference #ExcellenceInMaternityCare #BFHI #MeetTheBFUSATeam

BFUSA congratulates these wonderful facilities newly designated or re-designated Baby-Friendly in the month of November. We celebrate your ongoing commitment to the highest standards of infant feeding. Kudos to all!! Newly Designated: Barton Health Memorial Hospital, South Lake Tahoe, CA Re-Designated: St. Joseph's Health Hospital, Syracuse, NY Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Women & Babies Hospital, Lancaster, PA NorthBay Health Medical Center, Fairfield, CA CGH Medical Center, Sterling, IL Hackensack Meridian Health JFK University Medical Center, Edison, NJ Rochester Regional Health Unity Hospital, Rochester, NY #ProudToBeBabyFriendly

Cheers to Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Women & Babies Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for recently being re-designated Baby-Friendly!! This achievement highlights your remarkable ability to sustain a culture of excellence in infant feeding care. Congrats to all! #ProudToBeBabyFriendly

Well done, Rochester Regional Health Unity Hospital in Rochester, NY!! 🎉 Earning Baby-Friendly re-designation shows your ongoing dedication to giving families and babies the very best start in life. Kudos to all!!

Families can trust Baby-Friendly designated facilities to provide the tools and support they need -- regardless of their infant feeding goals. Lisa Hewson, Nurse Manager for The Birth Center at Valley Medical Center in Renton, Washington, which has been Baby-Friendly since 2017, shares: "Roughly 95% of our patients begin breastfeeding during their hospital stay. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative gives us the tools and guidance to help our patients reach their breast/chest feeding goals through prenatal education, skin-to-skin following delivery, rooming in, and our newly launched donor milk program. We recognize the importance of getting Valley babies the very best start by supporting individual feeding choices.” #ProudToBeBabyFriendly