Newark-Wayne Community Hosp-ital, Rochester Regional Health System has been awarded the prestigious “Baby-Friendly” designation by Baby-Friendly USA, a World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) program for hospitals and birthing centers. Baby-Friendly status is achieved through instituting rigorous, comprehensive, evidence-based maternity care practices that promote the optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies, the best infant feeding outcomes, mother/baby bonding and high patient satisfaction among other benefits.

Newark-Wayne is one of only eight facilities in New York State to earn this designation; Rochester General Hospital, another Rochester Regional Health System affiliate, has been a Baby-Friendly facility since 2000. Nationally, less than four percent of hospitals/birthing facilities have attained the Baby-Friendly designation.

Breastfeeding is considered the healthiest option for infant nutrition among physicians and infant nutrition experts around the world and is thought to contribute to life-long emotional and physical health for both the mother and infant. In fact, helping families to be healthier by promoting and increasing breastfeeding is a strategy in both the federal Healthy People 2020** initiative and the NYS Department of Health’s Prevention Agenda***. Since embarking on the Baby-Friendly journey, Newark-Wayne went from 48 % exclusive breastfeeding rate in 2011 to the current rate of 85 %.