The Department’s of Health has invited 50 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to bid for funding from the Department’s Inequalities Initiative to raise breastfeeding numbers and rates in their local area by implementing Baby Friendly Initiative practices.

When hospitals implement the Baby Friendly standards, the proportion of babies breastfed at birth has been shown to rise by 10% over four years. This extra investment should provide a significant boost to the number of Baby Friendly accredited hospitals, currently at around 10%, with an estimated 50% of hospitals in England either fully accredited or working towards accreditation.

If you are one of the 50 PCTs and require more information in order to prepare your bid, there are several resources available that can be of use.

UNICEF UK has been working on a series of changes to improve strategic support to hospitals working towards Baby Friendly status. A copy of the proposed package is available here.

You can download a copy of the recently revised Seven Point Plan for sustaining breastfeeding in the community here.

You can also contact several peer-support organizations for information. Click here for more details.

Please call the Baby Friendly Initiative Offices on 020 7312 7652 if you have any questions or require any further information.