Baby Friendly

Baby Friendly Businesses

The following file contains a list of baby friendly businesses throughout the Taranaki Region.

Becoming a Baby Friendly Hospital

Taranaki Base Hospital and Hawera Hospital have been accredited as Baby Friendly Hospitals - hospitals working within the World Health Organisation's recommended 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

The Baby Friendly Hospital (BFHI) accreditation relates to the whole of the District Health Board in regard to these 10 Steps, and not just the Maternity Units. This includes the way we care for staff who are breastfeeding, visitors to the hospital who are breastfeeding and the support we give to new mothers of babies born in our hospitals.

The government, in 1998, joined with the many of the other OEDC countries in supporting the WHO driven Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). All DHB's have since been working towards implementation of the programme and Baby Friendly hospital accreditation. In May 2001, 30 New Zealand hospitals with maternity facilities were audited to establish what further requirements they needed to attain full accreditation.

Accreditation as a Baby Friendly Hospital means all our hospital staff are committed to promoting breastfeeding as the best initial care for newborn babies and our facilities are designed to assist people who wish to breastfeed their babies.

In December 2004, Taranaki Base Hospital and Hawera Maternity successfully completed the Baby Friendly Hospital Audit, passing each of the 10 steps required to gain BFHI status.

The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative was launched in 1991 by the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children's Fund to assist all hospitals to become centres of breastfeeding support.

Breastfeeding lays a foundation for a good health in infancy, childhood and into adult life. Maternity hospitals have a special role in supporting the establishment of breastfeeding.

Where hospitals have been designated as Baby Friendly, the standard of care for all mothers and babies has been raised, more mothers are breastfeeding their babies and child health has improved as a result.

Staff at Baby Friendly hospitals provide assistance to breastfeeding mothers by adopting practices that protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

Staff also ensure that mothers who decide not to breastfeed are provided with information and support.

A Baby Friendly hospital adopts the 10 steps to Successful Breastfeeding whilst providing good care before, during and after birth - treating every mother with respect and supporting her with factual information.

A Baby Friendly hospital also agrees not to accept free or low-cost milk substitutes (formula), feeding bottles or teats.

New Zealand maternity hospitals are encouraged to become Baby Friendly. The New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority is responsible for implementing BFHI throughout New Zealand and for awarding certificates of accreditation.

The 10 steps to Successful Breastfeeding are: -

To have a written breastfeeding policy that is communicated to all health care staff.
To train all health care staff in the skills necessary to implement this policy.
To inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
To help mothers initiate breastfeeding within a half-hour of birth.
To show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if they are separated from their infants.
To give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk unless medically indicated.
To practise rooming-in - allow mothers and infants to stay together - 24 hours a day.
To encourage breastfeeding on demand.
To give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies and soothers) to breastfeeding infants.
To foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from hospital or clinic.

The Protector

Breastfeeding protects Mother from breast cancer and baby from diabetes, celiac, crohns, ulcerative colitis, colic, constipation, urinary tract infection, ear infection, auto-immune duseases of the thyroid, respiratory illness, diarrhoea, malocclusion, necrotising enterocolitis, lymphoid hypertrophy and chronic liver disease.

Breastfed babies develop higher intelligence quotients than those who receive no maternal milk and like all young mammals, do best with milk from their own species.

Breastfeeding promotes healthy oral development, satisfies sucking needs and enhances bonding and skin-to-skin contact between mother and child.

Breastfeeding prevents loneliness

From a poster produced in Canada 1994 for The Friends of Breastfeeding Society. Sources: The Centre for Disease Control, Atlanta, The Lancet, The Nursing Mother's Companion, The World Health Organisation, Drs Cunningham, Jelliffe, Jelliffe and Newman, The Compleat Mother Magazine, Breastfeeding Today, Geneva Infant Feeding Association and the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

NGA KORERO WHAKAMARAMA

Nga Arawhata Tekau mo te Ukaipo

Me whai kaupapa here mo te ukaipo, mo nga kai mahi Hauora.
Me whakapakari i nga kai mahi hauora i nga pukenga, kia whakatinanahia e ratou te kaupapa
Panuitia ki nga wahine hapu nga painga o te ukaipo, me te whakahaere hoki i taua kaupapa.
Awhinatia nga whaene ki te ukaipo a ratou pepi, i roto i te haurua haora muri tata mai i te whanautanga.
Tohutohu ki nga whaene ki te ukaipo a ratou pepi, me pehea hoki ka mau tonu te rere o te waiu, ahakoa wehe ratou i a ratou pepi.
Tohutohu ki nga whaene, kia kaua e whangai a ratou pepi ki etehi atu tumomo kai, wai ranei, ko te wai u anake. Waiho ma te takuta te ki mena ka whangai era atu kai.
Me nohotahi te whaene me tona pepi i te ruma kotahi, mo te rua tekau ma wha haora ia rangi.
Me akiaki kia whangai i te wa e tangi kai ana te pepi.
Tohutohu ki nga whaene, kia kaua e hoatu tetehi tumomo titi tawhaiwhai, ki nga pepi kai u.
Me whakaatu ki nga whaene kei whea nga roopu whakahaere ukaipo mo te wa ka puta ratou i te hohipera.

Last updated: Tuesday, November 30, 2010