06/09/2024
The Western Trust’s commitment to the effective promotion of breastfeeding was recognised and celebrated at a special celebration event recently held in Fermanagh.
South West Acute Hospital and Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex’s Maternity teams and Health Visiting Services have once again received the Baby Friendly Award Gold Award from UNICEF recognising the commitment of both maternity and health visiting staff across the Western Trust area in supporting families.
The Baby Friendly Initiative, set up by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, is a global programme which provides a practical and effective way for health services to improve and maintain the best standards of care for all mothers and babies. In the UK, the initiative works with public services to protect, promote and support breastfeeding, safe bottle feeding and to strengthen mother-baby and family relationships.
Fermanagh and Omagh Maternity and Health Visiting Services achieved the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) GOLD accreditation in 2020 and then successfully revalidated in 2021 and 2024. Maintaining this award is recognition that not only is our service providing the best standards of care for mothers and babies, but that it has the leadership, culture and systems in place to sustain this over the long term.
Congratulating the maternity and health visiting staff’s achievement, Western Trust Executive Director of Nursing, Midwifery and AHP Services Donna Keenan accredited this achievement to the local maternity and health visiting teams she said:
“The Western Trust promotes breastfeeding as the healthiest way for a mother to feed her baby and recognises the important benefits of breast milk for both the mother and her child. Western Trust staff have dedicated a huge amount of time and hard work to the implementation of this initiative over the past number of years.
“We are deeply passionate about supporting parents and families and delighted to be recognised for our commitment in leading the way in breastfeeding practice for the population across the Western Trust geography. This accreditation is a credit to the dedication and commitment of our staff.
Donna added:
“Western Trust staff have shown great commitment to the implementation of the Baby Friendly Initiative and continue to provide high quality services to local families along with consistent messages about the importance of infant feeding. It is our aim within the Western Trust to ensure that all mothers have appropriate information and knowledge regarding breastfeeding to make informed decisions about feeding their baby.”