Health visiting services in Lanarkshire have once again been awarded the prestigious ‘Baby Friendly Award’ from Unicef.

The international award is given to services that display best standard practices to protect, promote and support breastfeeding and to strengthen mother-baby and family relationships.

Anne Marie Bruce, NHS Lanarkshire acting infant feeding development midwife, said: “This reaccreditation is a tribute to the constant professionalism and hard work of our dedicated health visiting staff.

“The health visiting teams in north and south Lanarkshire met all of the criteria for continued Baby Friendly accreditation. The staff were commended for their work to maintain the very high standards they established. It was clear to the assessment team that mothers receive the best standard of care from their health visitor.”

The Baby Friendly Initiative, set up by Unicef and the World Health Organisation, is a global programme which provides a practical and effective way for health services to improve the care provided for all mothers and babies.

Sue Ashmore, Baby Friendly Initiative programme director, said: “We are delighted that the NHS Lanarkshire health visiting services have been reaccredited with the Baby Friendly status.

“Mothers throughout Lanarkshire can be confident that their health visitors will provide the best possible care for them and their baby.”

All of the mothers who were interviewed by the Baby Friendly Initiative inspectors said they were ‘very happy with their care’.

Anne Marie added: “The report found that many mothers commented on how much they appreciated being given information on how to recognise if breastfeeding was going well.

“The report also recognised that there is an excellent breastfeeding support programme in place throughout Lanarkshire, with breastfeeding assistants and community mother volunteers providing support. Many mothers interviewed during the assessment commented on how much they valued and appreciated the support they received.”
Mums can find their nearest breastfeeding support group at www.feedgoodfactor.org.uk.