A new infant feeding room has opened at Torbay Hospital to provide a more comfortable environment for staff, patients and visitors who are breastfeeding.
The room, located on level 3 of the women’s health unit, has been created to provide a safe and quiet environment for people to breastfeed, express and store milk.
It is open 24 hours a day and is equipped with comfortable seating, nappy changing facilities and a fridge to store milk. A small number of breast pumps are available for those unable to bring their own.
Dr Joanne Watson, Health and Care Strategy Director and the baby friendly guardian for Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I am delighted that we have the first infant feeding room in our organisation. It is so important to support families every way we can. Our staff and the people who use our services alike will be welcome to use these facilities.
“Colleagues in maternity and around the organisation have been powerful and persuasive to ensure we are baby friendly and keep improving. Carolan and Haidee, our infant feeding team, work so hard to support baby friendly initiatives and we are proud to have full baby friendly accreditation from UNICEF UK. We hope to see further feeding rooms around our organisation in future.”
The first week of August also marked world breastfeeding week, where members of Torbay and South Devon staff held an opening event for the room.
The infant feeding room at Torbay Hospital can be found on level 3 of the women’s health unit, behind the elevators.
To find out more about breastfeeding support, visit Torbay and South Devon NHS’ website: www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/maternity-services/maternity-voices/links/
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