National WIC Association Congratulates Baby-Friendly USA Milestone of 500 Baby-Friendly Designated Facilities in the United States
Nearly 1 in 4 Births in the US Now Occur in Baby-Friendly Facilities
March, 19, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Press Contact: Natalie Mulloy
Phone: 202-719-5529
Email: [email protected]
The National WIC Association, NWA, congratulates Baby-Friendly USA for helping the USA reach more than 500 designated Baby-Friendly hospitals/birthing centers. NWA is proud of our partnership with Baby-Friendly and our shared focus on the importance of protecting, promoting, supporting, and sustaining breastfeeding. Breast is best!
Baby-Friendly practices are designed to optimize mother-baby bonding. Baby-Friendly designation means that a maternity facility has successfully implemented the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, which include providing appropriate education to enable families to make informed decisions about infant feeding, encouraging mothers to hold their babies skin-to-skin immediately following birth, and offering expert lactation support throughout and beyond the hospital stay.
In just seven years, the USA has moved from less than 100 Baby-Friendly designated facilities to now 500 Baby-Friendly facilities – now roughly 1 in 6 hospitals/birthing centers in the US are Baby-Friendly designated.
“We join with Trish MacEnroe, BFUSA’s Executive Director, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in our excitement with this announcement,” said NWA President & CEO, Rev. Douglas A. Greenaway.
“We know that breastfeeding provides tremendous health benefits for both mothers and babies, protecting against a wide range of health challenges,” said NWA Board of Directors Chair Diana Hoek. "It is why NWA and WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) work so hard to promote breastfeeding as the best form of infant feeding and WIC as the nation’s go-to breastfeeding centers.”
# # #