| What is the Baby Friendly Initiative?
The Baby Friendly Initiative is a worldwide programme of the World Health Organization and UNICEF. It was established in 1992 to encourage maternity hospitals to implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding (a similar set of standards, entitled the Seven Steps, now also exists for community settings) and to practise in accordance with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes .
The UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative works with UK health services to improve the care and support provided for mothers and babies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in relation to infant feeding. Support is provided for health-care facilities that are seeking to implement best practice, and an assessment and accreditation process recognises those that have achieved the required standard.
The UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative believes that all hospitals, health centres and GP surgeries should provide this high standard of care for mothers and babies, and therefore ask them to adopt recognised best practice standards in support of breastfeeding. Baby Friendly health care facilities are the ones which have adopted these standards and changed the way they care for pregnant women and new mothers.
Leaflets are produced for parents in different languages, which include important information about feeding and caring for your baby. You can download and print these from the main UNICEF BFI website.
You will also find an extensive list of research into the benefits of breastfeeding and the hazards of artificial feeding.
Unfortunately, this website is not set up to provide answers to individual breastfeeding queries, which we recommend you discuss with your midwife or health visitor or, if your baby is in hospital, the staff caring for them. You may also wish to contact a peer supporter from a voluntary support organisations - see the 'Local Breastfeeding Groups and Support' section via the biutton to the left.
If you are a Blackpool or North Lancashire Health Care Professional with a query, please see the Health Professionals section via the button to the left.
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