The Neonatal Unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary has become the first in the region to be awarded UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative full accreditation.
The initiative is part of a global partnership between the World Health Organisation and UNICEF and aims to support maternity, neonatal and health visiting services to support families with infant feeding and developing close and loving relationships so that all babies and families can get the best possible start in life.
The programme was introduced in 1994 and extended to neonatal units in 2012 and the Newcastle unit becomes only one of 15 in the country to be fully accredited.
Angela Warne, Matron for the neonatal unit at Newcastle Hospitals said: “We’re delighted to have achieved stage three accreditation. It has been a long process and this final stage is so important as it’s based on feedback from parents on the unit.
“I’m incredibly proud of all the team who have worked so hard to reach this point and who continue to work tirelessly to support our families during such difficult and challenging times.”
In order to become fully accredited the unit must meet standards outlined by UNICEF. The first two stages support teams to embed the standards into written policies and procedures and educate the workforce to put this into practice. The final stage is based on the experiences of parents who currently – or have recently – had a baby stay in the unit.
Parents were asked about their entire journey on the unit, including the environment and facilities, the support they received to develop a close relationship with and feed their baby and how involved they were in care and decision making.
Maria Douglass, Neonatal Infant Feeding Support Lead at Newcastle Hospitals explains just what this means for families: “Having your baby stay on the neonatal unit can be one of the most stressful and difficult times. In becoming baby friendly we’re embedding a culture of working in partnership with parents on the unit.
“While the importance of providing breastmilk is promoted and supported for all babies especially those admitted to the neonatal unit, it is also about supporting parents to develop close and loving relationships with their baby. It’s been a real team effort and I’m really proud that we’ve received stage three/full accreditation.”
The neonatal unit joins the Newcastle Hospitals maternity department in receiving UNICEF Baby Friendly accreditation, read more about the initiative here.
