Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital Earns "Baby-Friendly" Designation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West Bloomfield, Mich. – Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is the first hospital in Oakland County to be designated a Baby-Friendly® Hospital.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and mother/baby bonding. The global program was launched in 1991 by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

“It’s what’s best for babies,” says Brent Davidson, M.D., service chief for Women’s Health Services at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. “The support of breastfeeding and bonding involves mother and baby rooming together, not separated in a nursery setting, as well as skin-to-skin contact whenever possible.

“As a result, we will have healthier babies and healthier communities.”

Becoming a Baby-Friendly facility is a complex journey toward excellence in providing maternity care and compels organizations to examine and sometimes modify policies and procedures. All levels of staff undergo training.

Over three years, a multi-specialty team created a culture at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital that not only supports a woman’s decision to breastfeed, but provides research-based practices that increase her likelihood for success.

The hospital had to meet many criteria, and undergo an onsite assessment, to earn the designation, which is for five years. Hospitals must report statistics annually and may be re-designated as Baby-Friendly at the end of the five-year period.

There are only four other hospitals in Michigan with the Baby-Friendly Hospital designation. There are 225 Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers in the U.S.

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is located at 6777 W. Maple Rd. in West Bloomfield.