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Greenwich babies shoud be gurgling with delight as the Council and Greenwich PCT have become the first partners in London to achieve Stage Two of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative.
Both organisations have been commended for their commitment to, and enthusiasm for, breastfeeding and are now on track for achieving full accreditation by the end of next year.
What is the Baby Friendly Initiative?
The UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative is an international programme that recognises best practice standards for promoting and supporting breastfeeding in community health settings.
Stage One was completed in June. It focuses on:
- the local breastfeeding policy
- the staff education programme
- information available for pregnant women and new mums.
The Stage Two assessment involved three UNICEF representatives visiting the borough to interview a mixture of community staff over two days. This included:
- health visitors
- nursery nurses
- breastfeeding advocates.
The visit was to ensure an effective staff education programme is in place.
The assessors also visited a number of Children’s Centres and Health Centres to make sure local premises were supportive of breastfeeding and that reception staff knew where to send people who needed further information or support.
Health benefits
Councillor Jackie Smith, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, said:
"Breastfeeding makes a crucial difference to the health of children and mothers, both in the short and long term. This news clearly demonstrates the level of work that Greenwich has put into this area.
"We are delighted with achieving Stage Two and intend to build on this success and gain the full accreditation as soon as possible."
Find out more about breastfeeding in our Health and social care section.
16 April 2008