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Parents face countless decisions about how they will love and care for their baby, including how they will feed their newborns. Nova Scotia Health (NSH) strives to offer high quality, evidence-based support along the way. Our guidepost for this work is the Baby-Friendly Initiative, or BFI.
The Baby-Friendly Initiative is a global program established by the World Health Organization and UNICEF to improve breastfeeding rates and duration. Embraced by healthcare providers around the world, the BFI uses the best available evidence to help families on their infant feeding journey.
Organizations like NSH work toward achieving a BFI designation, which means we use the best practices provided by BFI to guide our service standards, including the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. The information to support families is regularly reviewed and updated and is proven to have a positive impact on breastfeeding success, enhancing the quality of care provided to parents and their babies. The BFI supports all families in the hospital and community before, during and after birth, regardless of how they choose to feed their babies.
Many NSH facilities have achieved and are maintaining BFI designation. Others, along with our Public Health Early Years program, are working toward this gold standard.
BFI in NSH Facilities
The infant feeding journey begins before a baby is born. Nova Scotia Health and Public Health provide support and share resources with families to help them make informed choices. This guidance is offered with the knowledge that human milk provides the best nutrition, and that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding is recommended up to age two and beyond.
When having a baby in an NSH facility, parents are encouraged to ask questions about infant feeding at any time. Hospital staff will ensure they have support to breastfeed their newborn, enjoy the benefits of skin-to-skin contact, and start to develop the skills for ongoing success when they go home.
Nova Scotia Health team members hold the responsibility to be informed of current best practices around infant feeding, support a positive breastfeeding culture and respect the choices of all. This lends itself to our policy of people-centred care, which means respecting families’ individual needs, culture and wishes for infant feeding and parent-child bonding.
BFI at Home
Public Health is an important part of the healthcare team during pregnancy and after a child is born. Their Early Years program is working toward achieving BFI designation across the province to ensure families receive consistent and high-quality support during the first years of a child’s life.
Early Years recently brought on board BFI Health Promoters in each zone who are dedicated to leading the implementation of BFI strategies and tools in community. These experts work with Public Health Nurses, Community Home Visitors, healthcare and community partners to inform best practices for infant feeding support. They are also responsible for developing an approach to infant feeding that emphasizes health equity, giving all families the support they need to meet their feeding goals.
Early Years is here to support parents throughout their feeding journey and can help navigate common challenges. Find out more about their services and infant feeding resources on the Early Years pregnancy and parenting webpages.
Learn more about the Baby-Friendly Initiative at Nova Scotia Health.