A HOSPITAL’S maternity centre has been praised by a UNICEF UK initiative for its promotion of breastfeeding.

The midwife-led unit at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton has been commended by UNICEF UK after it was assessed for stage three accreditation in its Baby Friendly Initiative.

Staff at the hospital now have the same level of accreditation as the maternity unit at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, which was also commended.

Anna Tainsh, from UNICEF’S UK Baby Friendly Initiative, said: “It was clear to the assessment team that pregnant women and new mothers receive a very high standard of care. Almost all of the mothers interviewed spoke very highly of the care they had received at Friarage maternity centre and this is reflected in the assessment results.”

She added: “Excellent progress has been made toward implementing the new maternity standards into care with all of the breastfeeding mothers interviewed understanding how to feed their baby in a responsive way, and many having had a meaningful conversation about relationship building in the antenatal period.”

Work in the community by staff with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was also praised. Assessors were especially impressed with the five days of contact mothers receive from staff, which helped them continue with breastfeeding.

Kay Branch, midwife consultant at South Tees, said it demonstrated the enormous effort that specialist midwife in infant feeding, Paulina Rossi had put in, along with the infant feeding team, midwives and neonatal nurses, in an area that traditionally has one of the lowest breast feeding rates in the country.