Community facilities that adopt the Seven Point Plan for Sustaining Breastfeeding in the Community (downloadable on the rightt) can apply to be assessed and accredited as Baby Friendly. The Seven Points are evidence-based best practice standards developed by UNICEF UK to enable improved practice in community health care in order to promote, protect and support breastfeeding.

Accredited facilities are also required to practise in line with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.

Community facilities include primary care trusts, community health care trusts, GP surgeries, locality teams, health centres and, in some cases, children's centres.

Standards
To find out about the criteria for each of the Seven Points, select from the list in the orange box on the right of the screen. For guidance on implementing any or all of the points, choose Implementation guidance.

Assessment and accreditation
To find out about the staged approach to assessment and accreditation, click on Community assessment stages in the blue menu on the right.

Support materials
Each page of this section has an orange box on the right of the screen that lists important documents to help you with your progress towards accreditation. To download a document, just click on it.