Regions Hospital increases breastfeeding rate by 30 percent
St. Paul hospital receives international recognition as a Baby-Friendly birth facility.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Feb. 2, 2015 — Regions Hospital has earned a designation as a Baby-Friendly birth facility from Baby Friendly USA, Inc. This international accreditation recognizes birth centers that offer optimal care for breastfeeding mothers. Regions Hospital is the sixth hospital in Minnesota and one of only 232 hospitals or birth centers in the United States to earn the Baby-Friendly designation.
“This is one important way that we are delivering the best care and best experience for new moms and babies,” says Megan Remark, President and CEO of Regions Hospital. “Since we started following these Baby-Friendly best practices, we’ve seen our exclusive breastfeeding rates in the hospital increase by 30 percent. We’re happy we can support more mothers who want to breastfeed. ”
Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce rates of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type II diabetes and postpartum depression in mothers and reduce rates of obesity, SIDS, asthma, ear infections, respiratory infections, childhood leukemia and type I and type II diabetes in babies and children.
Steps that Regions has taken to earn this recognition include making sure the mother and baby have skin-to-skin contact directly after birth, that mothers and babies are together in the same room during their hospital stay, and educating Birth Center patients and employees about the benefits of breastfeeding and the best ways to support it.
In addition to educating families, Regions has translated material in four languages and plans to have employees go through diversity training to better understand maternity practices in other cultures.
Support of breastfeeding is one of ten maternal and children’s health initiatives being supported across HealthPartners. All HealthPartners hospitals in Minnesota and western Wisconsin are working toward Baby-Friendly designation. HealthPartners also supports community initiatives to make it easier for mothers to breastfeed their children.
About HealthPartners
HealthPartners is the largest consumer-governed nonprofit health care organization in the nation with a mission to improve health and well-being in partnership with members, patients and the community. For more information, visit healthpartners.com.
About Baby-Friendly USA, Inc
Baby-Friendly USA, Inc is the U.S. authority for the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (“BFHI”), a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. 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 their babies. For more information, visit babyfriendlyusa.org.