Brookings Health System Re-Designated Baby-Friendly Hospital

  • July 01, 2020

Evidence-Based Breastfeeding Support for Mothers and Babies Continues

Mom Allie Luoma snuggles her baby boy, Corbin, during their stay earlier this year at Brookings Health System’s OB unit, New Beginnings Birth Center. Brookings Health System recently achieved Baby-Friendly Hospital re-designation, meaning the health system continues to have the policies and practices in place to implement evidence-based care. This ensures mothers who deliver at New Beginnings Birth Center and intend to breastfeed, as well as those who cannot or decide not to breastfeed, are supported.
Mom Allie Luoma snuggles her baby boy, Corbin, during their stay earlier this year at Brookings Health System’s OB unit, New Beginnings Birth Center. Brookings Health System recently achieved Baby-Friendly Hospital re-designation, meaning the health system continues to have the policies and practices in place to implement evidence-based care. This ensures mothers who deliver at New Beginnings Birth Center and intend to breastfeed, as well as those who cannot or decide not to breastfeed, are supported.

Brookings Health System recently achieved the highly prestigious international Baby-Friendly Re-Designation after a rigorous review process conducted by Baby-Friendly USA, the organization responsible for bestowing this certification in the United States.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) program that encourages and recognizes hospitals that promote and support breastfeeding. This includes hospital policies, practices, and staff, physician, and community education. To achieve Baby-Friendly designation, Brookings Health System implemented policies following the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding for Hospitals and Birth Centers as outlined by UNICEF and WHO.

“We’re proud to be one of only two Baby-Friendly Designated hospitals in the state and the only one east of the Missouri River,” said Obstetrics Director Mary Schwaegerl. “We know the hospital experience strongly influences a mother’s ability to start and to continue breastfeeding. Our New Beginnings Birth Center team is committed to implementing evidence-based care to ensure mothers delivering in our facility who intend to breastfeed, as well as those who cannot or decide not to breastfeed, are fully supported.”

The positive health effects of breastfeeding are well documented and widely recognized by health authorities throughout the world. UNICEF, WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and many other national and international health agencies recommend mothers breastfeed babies exclusively for the first six months of life. The U.S. Surgeon General’s 2011 Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding stated, “Breast milk is uniquely suited to the human infant’s nutritional needs and is a live substance with unparalleled immunological and anti-inflammatory properties that protect against a host of illnesses and diseases for both mothers and children.”

Brookings Health System became the first non-Indian Health Services hospital in South Dakota to receive the Baby-Friendly Hospital designation in 2015. In 2019, Brookings Health was the only organization in South Dakota to earn the IBCLC Care Award for excellence in lactation care and providing lactation programming for breastfeeding families. More information on how Brookings Health System supports nursing moms and babies can be found at brookingshealth.org/breastfeeding.

About Baby-Friendly USA

As the accrediting body and national authority for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in the United States, Baby-Friendly USA is responsible for upholding the highest standards in infant feeding care by coordinating and conducting all activities necessary to confer the prestigious Baby-Friendly designation and ensure the widespread adoption of the BFHI in the US. Learn more about Baby-Friendly USA and the BFHI at babyfriendlyusa.org.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic & Optical, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, emergency and extended care services. Brookings Hospital provides local access to doctors in Brookings and offers robotic da Vinci surgery and Mako robotic-arm assisted procedures, making it one of the premier rural community hospitals in South Dakota. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.