We believe breastfeeding is the best thing you can do to help your baby get a healthy start on life. Rockford Memorial Hospital recently earned the prestigious Baby-Friendly™ designation, one of the first six hospitals to receive this honor in Illinois. This program uses United Nations and World Health Organization guidelines to implement comprehensive steps to help mothers of newborns breastfeed successfully. The process changed the way new moms and babies are cared for and allows for providing an optimum level of care and support for infant feeding and mother/baby bonding. This is another reason why we are the place for kids.
Ten Steps in Our Baby-Friendly™ Journey
1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
2. Train all health care staff in the 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 breast milk, unless medically indicated.
7. Practice rooming-in: allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
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 birth center.
