For more than 2 years, East Jefferson General Hospital has been promoting maternity practices from Baby Friendly USA’s “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” and striving to meet these goals for designation in 2015. The Baby-Friendly Initiative is a global program launched by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund to designate hospitals that facilitate informed maternal decisions, breastfeeding and mother-infant bonding.

Baby Friendly USA surveyors will visit our campus on February 9th and 10th to evaluate the progress EJGH has made in implementing these steps which are associated with improved outcomes for mothers and infants. The Baby Friendly “Ten Steps” include skin to skin contact and rooming-in, which allows mothers and infants to remain together throughout their hospital stay, a practice associated with many physical and psychological benefits for both mother and child. As a community hospital, EJGH also supports the Baby Friendly promotion of community resource partnerships for family and breastfeeding support beyond the EJGH birth experience.

To learn more about EJGH’s journey towards Baby Friendly USA’s goals, visit ejgh.org/womanandchild.

For more information on the Baby-Friendly USA Initiative, visit babyfriendlyusa.org.