Award recognises excellence of breastfeeding education at York
Posted on 12 July 2011
The award will be presented to Midwifery Education Team staff and students by Sue Ashmore, Programme Director of the BFI, UNICEF on Wednesday, 13 July at the University’s Heslington Hall.
We know that many women give up breastfeeding before they want to because of difficulties which could have been prevented if skilled help had been on hand
Karen Khan
Karen Khan, the University’s Lead Midwife for Education said: "We decided to work with the Baby Friendly Initiative to ensure a high standard of training in breastfeeding for all student midwives graduating from our programme.
“We know that many women give up breastfeeding before they want to because of difficulties which could have been prevented if skilled help had been on hand. By ensuring that our midwifery students are fully trained in how to help a mother breastfeed her baby we hope more women will be able to breastfeed their babies for longer.”
Professor Mary Renfrew, Director of the University’s Mother and Infant Research Unit, added: "Breastfeeding protects babies against a wide range of serious illnesses including gastroenteritis and respiratory infections in infancy as well as allergies and diabetes in childhood. We also know that breastfeeding reduces the mother’s risk of some cancers – although women might be more interested in hearing that it’s easier, cheaper and simply less hassle than bottle feeding.”
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.
The Baby Friendly University Award was launched in the UK in 2005 - the first such award anywhere in the world - to ensure high levels of training in breastfeeding are incorporated in midwifery and health visitor training courses.
The University Award recognises that an institution has implemented best practice in breastfeeding training and has passed an external assessment by a UNICEF, BFI panel. Students at York achieved 100 per cent during the assessment process.
"We are delighted that the Department of Health Sciences at York has received this award,” said Sue Ashmore. “Surveys show us that most mothers want to breastfeed but don’t always get the support they need. Becoming Baby Friendly Accredited means that the Department of Health Sciences is addressing this problem and aiming to ensure more mothers can successfully breastfeed their babies in future.”
Notes to editors:
- For more information on the Department of Health Sciences visit www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences
- For further information on the Baby Friendly Initiative visit www.babyfriendly.org.uk
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