Maternity services at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust have been awarded the
prestigious Baby Friendly Accreditation from UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.
The award, recognising best practice standards for mothers and babies, was given following an
inspection of the maternity service by assessors from the Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI). This is a
re-accreditation because maternity services have previously already met the high standards.
Rachael Glasson, Trust Head of Midwifery and Gynaecology, said: “I am absolutely delighted
the hard work of the team has been recognised with the achievement of re-accreditation.
“The BFI standards provide us with a framework to ensure our staff have the skills to support
women with feeding choices, providing current, evidence-based care, and enable women to
achieve their feeding goals.
“This means babies are responded to and fed when they wish, which evidence shows helps to
support the development of close and loving relationships.
“We are now looking forward to achieving the Gold Award. This is the highest award and shows
that the BFI standards are fully embedded in our service in a sustainable way and part of the
normal care we provide”
BFI is revolutionising healthcare for babies, their mothers and families in the UK as part of a
global partnership between the World Health Organisation and UNICEF. Implementing the BFI
standards ensures services are better at supporting families with feeding, developing close
loving relationships and ensuring all babies get the best possible start to life.
The assessors interviewed staff assessing their knowledge and skills. They also gained
feedback from mothers who had recently given birth about the information they were provided
with and their experience in being supported in their feeding choice. The maternity team were
delighted to be re-accredited.
The assessment team reported that pregnant woman and new mothers received a high
standard of care and there was evidence of a tremendous amount of work being undertaken so
that information was delivered to families in a memorable way. Women reported being treated
with kindness and compassion.
The BFI standards span the whole of the Trust. Colleagues in Special Care Baby Unit and the
0-19 Service are currently working towards the next stages of their BFI award.
More information can be gained from visiting the BFI website:
https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/ https://www..nhs.uk/breastfeeding/extra-help-andsupport; and on Facebook look up NHS Breastfeeding Torbay
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