Hull is officially Baby Friendly
22 October, 2013
City Health Care Partnership CIC’s (CHCP CIC) infant feeding team are celebrating being given the prestigious Baby Friendly Award, winning international recognition from UNICEF (United Nation’s Children’s Fund).
Along with Hull City Council staff, children’s centres and the Goodwin breastfeeding peer support and doula services, CHCP CIC’s team have been working towards this accreditation for the past five years. Debbie Jackson, infant feeding co-ordinator at CHCP CIC, explained what they had to do to get it.
“All our health staff who have direct contact with mums, such as health visitors, have done 18 hours of training in supporting mums to breastfeed and giving them information to make an informed decision. We also had to look at all our policies and procedures and work collaboratively with other agencies so that we delivered consistent care. Throughout the process we have done regular audits to make sure we meet UNICEF’s high standards.
“UNICEF came to see us and assessed our staff’s skills and knowledge and they also interviewed mums about the service they’d received from us.
“We’re absolutely delighted to have gained this accreditation. A lot of new mums haven’t considered breastfeeding and I hope it’ll be another way that we can encourage them to try it and help them to succeed.
“Breastfeeding protects babies against a range of serious illnesses including gastroenteritis, respiratory infections and cot death in infancy as well as obesity, asthma, cardiovascular disease and diabetes in later life. It also reduces the mother’s risk of some cancers and helps them to lose weight after the birth, as well as being easier, cheaper and less hassle than bottle feeding.”
Sue Ashmore, Baby Friendly Initiative Programme Director at UNICEF, said, “We are delighted that Hull has achieved full Baby Friendly status. Surveys show us that most mothers want to breastfeed but don’t always get the support they need. Mothers in Hull can be confident that their health visitors, breastfeeding peer support workers, doulas and other staff in children’s community services will provide high standards of care.”
Debbie Jackson said, “I’m privileged to lead on a service like this and feel proud of what we have achieved. However, I don’t feel that Baby Friendly accreditation is the end of the story; now we need to further embed our knowledge and skills, implement UNICEFs new standards that have recently been developed and move towards Centre of Excellence status, involving the implementation of more innovations and initiatives.
“I really hope that this will lead to more Hull mums choosing to breastfeed so they can enjoy the benefits it will bring for them and their babies.”
Julia Mizon, Director of Commissioning and Partnerships, NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) added, “We recognise the significant amount of work required in order to achieve this status and want to thank all those who have contributed to this fantastic achievement.
“Improving breastfeeding rates is a key part of the successful delivery of the NHS Hull CCG Maternity Services Strategy.
“The achievement of full UNICEF Baby Friendly Accreditation for Hull enables us to build upon the work undertaken to further encourage and support women to breastfeed, which will improve the immediate and longer term health outcomes for children, young people and mothers alike."
