In an earlier blog, I addressed “Be”-oriented objections for why your hospital “can’t” go Baby-Friendly. Now, let’s look at reasons related to what hospitals do—or perhaps, more to the point, what they do not do. I hear these objections frequently, and they are almost always rooted in activities or behaviors that people Read more…
People often say, “We can’t go baby-friendly at our hospital.” They ask “Why can’t I get my hospital to change its practices?” What they mean is, “Why can’t I get the people in the hospital to change?” (Sometimes, it does seem that it would almost be easier to get the brick-and-mortar Read more…
Everyone thinks they understand Step One of the Ten Steps, which reads “Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.” Baby-Friendly committee members know they must write the policy. But they often overlook the “communicating” part of that step. Even those who have written a fairly good Read more…
I’ve warned against writing long-winded, rambling policies. I’ve tackled the “bare bones” of what you need to include in your policy statement. But what is the “fat” that’s often included in such policies, that needs to be trimmed? What do you need to leave out? Read on for suggestions about what your Read more…
“We’re planning to submit our hospital’s breastfeeding policy to Baby-Friendly USA,” I often hear. “If they don’t like it, they’ll help us fix it, right?” Although I used to be the president of Baby-Friendly USA’s Board of Directors, I am no longer affiliated with the organization, so I don’t have Read more…
At Breastfeeding Outlook, we get many calls from hospital staff members asking for help with their breastfeeding policy. How many policies have I written single-handedly … helped others to write … reviewed and critiqued since the early 1980s? I have no idea. It’s a lot. But if you haven’t seen as Read more…
Undertaking the process of being designated as a Baby-Friendly facility can cause a case of nerves at the best of times. But in the case of any number of common last-minute issues, it can make you feel downright queasy, wondering how you and everyone else at the hospital will “prove” your worthiness to achieve Read more…
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times: “It costs too much to go Baby-Friendly!” Well, it’s true that going Baby-Friendly doesn’t happen for free. (What does?) But more than 360 U.S hospitals have taken the Ten Steps and earned Baby-Friendly designation. Many more have started the process. I’ll bet dollars Read more…
In the first part of this series, I focused on the need to plan a multifaceted approach to communicating the new breastfeeding policy you developed as part of Step 1 of the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.” In the second part, I addressed the need to engage staff and provided Read more…
In the first part of this series, I focused on the need to plan a multifaceted approach to communicating the new breastfeeding policy you developed as part of Step 1 of the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.” Communicating the policy is a big deal. After all, the word comes Read more…