Baby Friendly Initiative.

As mentioned in my background details, I was heavily involved with the Baby Friendly Initiative, (BFI) overseen by Unicef, at my local maternity unit, taking them through 3 accreditations over 10 years.

You can read more about the BFI process, on the Unicef website.

The Baby Friendly Initiative is a global programme of UNICEF and the World Health Organization which works with the health services to improve practice so that parents are enabled and supported to make informed choices about how they feed and care for their babies.

Health-care facilities which adopt practices to support successful breastfeeding receive the prestigious UNICEF/WHO Baby Friendly award.

In the UK, the Baby Friendly Initiative is commissioned by various parts of the health service to provide advice, support, training, networking, assessment and accreditation." (Source: The UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative - Developing a breastfeeding strategy.)

For more information about all aspects of the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative’s work, visit the website at www.babyfriendly.org.uk

Clare Meynell,
Lactation Consultant, Chichester, West Sussex.