Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative

Baby-Friendly USA envisions
an American culture
that values the enduring benefits
of breastfeeding and human milk
for mothers, babies, and society.

The Ten Steps To Successful Breastfeeding

The BFHI promotes, protects, and supports breastfeeding through The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding for Hospitals, as outlined by UNICEF/WHO. The steps for the United States are:

1 -	Maintain a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
2 -	Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
3 -	Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4 -	Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
5 -	Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.
6 -	Give infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated.
7 -	Practice “rooming in”-- allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8 -	Encourage unrestricted breastfeeding.
9 -	Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
10 -	Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic**

Source: http://www.babyfriendlyusa.org/

**In Utah, we refer to La Leche League of Utah, ILCA's site for finding a certified lactation consultant (IBCLC), and WIC for the 10th step.

University Hospital Becomes First ‘Baby Friendly’ Hospital in Utah and 73rd in U.S.

La Leche League of Utah Congratulates University of Utah Hospital on Achieving Baby Friendly Certification

Ban The Bags

Ban The Bags is the national campaign to stop formula company marketing in maternity hospitals.

The campaign grew out of efforts in Massachusetts to stop aggressive formula company marketing tactics in hospitals. Multiple studies have shown that formula sales campaigns undermine mothers who choose to breastfeed, and coopt medical professionals to promote expensive brand-name formula.

If you would like to help with the Ban The Bags campaign in Utah, please contact us at banthebags.utahbreastfeeding.org.

Visit the official Ban The Bags website: www.banthebags.org.

USBC Teleconference Slides (2/13/07)

Related Articles:

“Baby Goody Bags May Be On the Way Out”
By RACHEL ZIMMERMAN
February 27, 2007; page D4
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117254916033220353.html

“The Language of Banning the Bags”
By Melissa Bartick, MD, MS
Chair, Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition
http://banthebags.org/?p=54#more-54