As a public health unit with Baby-Friendly Initiative designation, SMDHU
collaborates with other agencies to meet the needs of parents and work to
provide consistent quality care and the promotion of breastfeeding and
infant feeding best practices. In 2017, SMDHU achieved designation as a
Baby-Friendly Initiative Community Health Organization from the
Breastfeeding Committee for Canada, joining 27 other Ontario public health
units that have reached this milestone. Achieving BFI designation requires
entrenching BFI philosophy in health unit policy, building staff knowledge
and practice, ensuring public spaces are breastfeeding-friendly, as well as
outreach and advocacy for supportive policy for the public and in private
agencies and businesses.1
To support breastfeeding and infant feeding best practices in the community
SMDHU:
4. Collaborates with regional and local community partners to address
issues related to infant feeding through participation on a variety
of coalitions and committee.
5. Works with hospital partners to provide BFI and infant feeding
education to health care providers, including:
- This course increases health care providers’ knowledge
about breastfeeding and the Baby-Friendly Initiative.
Participants of the course will obtain the necessary
knowledge and skills to assist parents in reaching
their personal breastfeeding goals.
- From 2014 to 2018, 230 health care providers from
across our region completed this training.
- Works with community partners to provide education to staff and
volunteers of organizations who support prenatal and postnatal
parents.
6. Collaborates with the Canadian Prenatal Nutrition Programs
throughout Simcoe and Muskoka.
7. SMDHU conducts annual infant feeding surveillance.
- Local infant feeding surveillance data is available on
SMDHU’s HealthSTATS website.
8. SMDHU provides infant feeding programs, services and resources.
- Prenatal Education (in-person classes and online classes
available)
- Community-based breastfeeding support groups
- One-on-one education, counselling and encouragement through
phone or online contact with a Health Connection nurse
- To clients participating in the Healthy Babies Healthy Children
program through completion of a prenatal/postnatal HBHC screen
