WE WELCOME ALL EXPECTANT MOMS
and dads to tour our birthing center before
baby’s due date. For information,
call
715-623-9280
.
support for breastfeeding
by referring moms to
classes and groups that
can help them stick with this
healthful practice.
w
Enabling rooming-in.
Mothers and infants who are
together 24 hours a day have more time for skin-to-skin
contact. Moms can breastfeed their newborns on demand,
which also encourages closeness and teaches babies that
their needs will be met.
Our future Baby-Friendly Hospital status is an outward
sign of what’s always happening inside our hospital: constant
striving to take the best possible care of you and your family.
Journey to
baby-friendly
hospital!
OUR
hospital is on a journey to join an elite group: the
select few U.S. health care facilities officially designated as
Baby-Friendly Hospitals. This means we will meet the highest
standards for maternity care and infant feeding, according to
the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
To earn this status, hospital staff members at all levels receive
comprehensive training, followed by on-site evaluation by the
accrediting agency, Baby-Friendly Hospital–USA. We have
a current team of hospitalwide representation working on
this best practice initiative since fall of 2012. The goal of the
agency’s qualifying process is to make sure we’re providing
evidence-based, gold-standard care for newborns and their
moms.
Attaining future Baby-Friendly Hospital status will prove our
commitment to these three crucial elements of optimal care:
w
Promoting skin-to-skin contact.
Cuddling skin-to-skin
helps parents and newborns bond. It makes babies feel
loved and lays the foundation for a nurturing parent-child
relationship.
w
Encouraging breastfeeding.
Human breast milk provides
the best mix of nutrients and antibodies for babies
to thrive. Breastfeeding helps mothers recover from
childbirth, promotes the development of a baby’s brain
and nervous system, and fosters closeness between
mother and child.
We’re also committed to protecting families from the
promotion of breast milk substitutes, which means,
among other things, that we will not be giving free
samples of infant formula. And we offer ongoing
Elizabeth, new mom,
holding baby Michael
• Pathways
9
