Milestones in becoming baby friendly
Vancouver Coastal Health is well on its way to being the first health authority in BC to be designated Baby Friendly by 2015.
The Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) is supported by Perinatal Services B.C. (PSBC) as the minimum standard for supporting breastfeeding in B.C. Accreditation Canada and the Ministry of Health have also identified BFI as a goal for facilities in supporting women with infant feeding.
Making progress
A group of dedicated professionals across the continuum of care, has been working diligently with our stakeholders since 2008 to improve our support of breastfeeding women according to the Integrated 10 Steps Practice Outcome Indicators for Hospitals and Community Health Units. To date, they’ve developed a regional infant feeding guideline and are developing and standardizing educational materials and competency expectations, identifying avenues to familiarize all new staff to VCH with the BFI, monitoring exclusive breastfeeding rates at hospital discharge and in the community, and developing materials for families to support breastfeeding. We also have a Baby Friendly information on VCH Connect under Regional Programs and Service Integration.
Learning
For October we are excited to introduce a new breastfeeding education module which is now available on CCRS. This module is targeted to professionals who may care for breastfeeding mothers and/or their infants but who do not provide direct breastfeeding care and support. These professionals include physiotherapists, nutritionists, GPs not providing obstetrical care, nurses, and many other health and allied health professionals. Although a higher level of expertise is required of hospital maternity nurses, public health nurses and physicians providing direct maternity care, this on-line module can be used to support many educational efforts currently being provided in our facilities.
More information
Contact Patty Keith or Radhika Bhagat (Co-Chairs of the BFI Steering Committee) or Joanne Wooldridge, regional leader, Early Childhood Development, for more information.