Community Hospital recognized by
Baby-Friendly USA, WHO, and UNICEF
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MONTEREY, Calif. — Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula has been designated as the 41st U.S. Baby-Friendly™ birth facility by Baby-Friendly USA.
The process began with the filing of a Certificate of Intent in July 2002, followed by the application process for an on-site assessment in December 2002. The hard work and extensive staff training of the entire Family Birth Center, Intermediate Intensive Care Nursery, and Main North departments to prepare for the inspections paid off when Community Hospital passed the rigorous on-site survey — November 20-21, 2003 — on the first attempt. Other hospitals typically require several inspections.
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund). Based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, this prestigious international award recognizes birth facilities that offer breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding.
Attaining breastfeeding standards results in the best possible support for mothers and infants. Breastmilk is the perfect food for a baby’s first six months of life. All children benefit from breastfeeding because it protects them from diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, ear infections, and allergic skin disorders, and it stimulates their immune systems and response to vaccinations.
The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding for Hospitals, as outlined by UNICEF and WHO, are:
- Maintain a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all healthcare staff.
- Train all healthcare staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
- Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
- Help mother initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
- Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.
- Give infant no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated.
- Practice “rooming in” — allow mothers and infant to remain together 24 hours a day.
- Encourage unrestricted breastfeeding.
- Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
- Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, founded in 1934 and located at 23625 Holman Highway in Monterey, has grown and evolved in direct response to the changing healthcare needs of the people it serves. It is a nonprofit, integrated healthcare provider delivering a continuum of care from birth to end of life, and every stage in between. It serves the Monterey Peninsula and surrounding communities through 15 locations, including outpatient facilities, satellite laboratories, a mental health clinic, home health services, Hospice of the Central Coast, and business offices. More information about Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula is available at www.chomp.org.