King’s College London and the University of the West of Scotland (formerly Paisley University) are the first two universities to receive the brand new UNICEF UK Baby Friendly University Standards award, in a ceremony at King’s College.

The University Standards Award tackles the problem of patchy and often insufficient pre-registration training in breastfeeding for health-care professionals, which has led to thousands of mothers being unable to breastfeed for as long as they would have wished.

Universities are now able to apply for Baby Friendly accreditation, which will mean that newly qualified midwives and health visitors from accredited courses will be equipped with the knowledge and practical skills to enable them to support breastfeeding effectively.

Speaking at today’s award ceremony, Dawn Primarolo said: “I am truly delighted to be able to present these first UNICEF UK Baby Friendly awards to the University of the West of Scotland and King’s College London in recognition of the high levels of breastfeeding training they provide to student midwives.

“Increasing breastfeeding rates is a Government priority as it brings with it many health benefits to both mothers and babies, and the Baby Friendly programme has been proven to effectively promote breastfeeding. We encourage all health-care settings to adopt the principles of the Baby Friendly Initiative.

“Midwives graduating from these two universities will now be fully trained in all aspects of Baby Friendly best practice, and will, over time, be able to help many thousands of women successfully start and continue to breastfeed, as well as spread the benefit of their expert knowledge to colleagues.”

She added: “I hope that today’s awards mark the beginning of many other universities deciding to work towards implementing the Baby Friendly University Standards.”