This part of the site gives information about the pathway to Baby Friendly accreditation.

Best practice standards
The Baby Friendly Initiative accredits maternity and community health-care facilities and higher education institutions that have implemented best practice for breastfeeding and have passed an external assessment. To find out more about the best practice standards that relate to your area of practice, choose either Maternity best practice standards, Community best practice standards or University best practice standards from the menu on the right. You can find advice and guidance on implementing the Baby Friendly standards in the relevant section.

New Community best practice standards
The Baby Friendly Initiative conference on 26 and 27 November 2008 saw the launch of the revised Seven Point Plan for Sustaining Breastfeeding in the Community, which was developed following the review and consultation that took place during 2008. All the information on this site has now been revised in line with the new criteria.

The best way to access information about the revised criteria is to choose Community best practice standards from the blue menu on the right and then follow the menu options.

Accreditation stages
Working towards full accreditation takes place in stages. This is to assist units to make the changes required strategically and efficiently. To see how the stages work in each area of practice, click on either Maternity assessment stages, Community assessment stages or University assessment stages from the list on the right.

Neonatal stages
The Baby Friendly Initiative has produced a set of standards for neonatal units, but with, as yet, no accompanying accreditation scheme. To find out more, choose Neonatal standards from the list on the right.