Whanganui District Health Board has recently been awarded 'baby-friendly hospital' status.

A baby-friendly hospital is a health care facility in which the staff who are involved in the care of a mother and child are fully aware of the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding.

From a health board with one of the lowest rates of breast-feeding in the country, this is a significant achievement.

WDHB Baby Friendly Hospital Coordinator and Lactation Consultant, Aani Sherwin, has been working at the hospital for the last six months to increase our rates of exclusive breastfeeding and help our hospital become accredited.

Aani is a midwife with seven years lactation consultation experience, and is also an assessor for the NZ Breastfeeding Authority which she says “helped enormously” as she knew exactly what our hospital had to do to become qualified.

“Midwives and nursing staff must undergo 21 hours initial training, and doctors four hours initial training. To become certified, a hospital must prove that at least 75% of staff involved in a mother and baby’s care complete the training. I am extremely proud to say that our hospital had a pass rate of 98%.”

Aani is also a practicing midwife and has first hand experience with the difficulties faced by new mothers and some of the initial difficulties faced with breastfeeding.

“The baby friendly hospital initiative is targeted at both staff and new mums. I help train staff become more knowledgeable and confident about the importance of breastfeeding, good techniques to use, and the reasons behind persevering with breastfeeding if the mum is having initial problems.”

Aani says sometimes staff and new mums just need support. At the same time, baby friendly facilities ensure that women who choose not to breastfeed are supported in their decision and provide unbiased information and advice.