• Lori Feldman-Winter, Diane Procaccini, and Anne Merewood.
• Department of Pediatrics, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ, USA.
• J Hum Lact. 2012 Aug 1; 28 (3): 304-11.

BackgroundIn June 2010, the Communities Putting Prevention to Work program (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) funded a New Jersey (NJ) Office on Nutrition and Fitness, Department of Health and Senior Services project to reduce obesity and increase exclusive breastfeeding by increased implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in the state of NJ. At baseline, NJ had no Baby-Friendly hospitals and no hospital was using an infant feeding policy that conformed to standards required by Baby-Friendly USA for designation.GoalTo create a model infant feeding policy that would be adaptable for use at multiple NJ hospitals preparing for Baby-Friendly designation.MethodsProject consultants created a policy based on existent policies from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, certified Baby-Friendly hospitals, and guidance from Baby-Friendly USA. This policy was submitted to Baby-Friendly USA, the US body responsible for Baby-Friendly designation.ResultsBaby-Friendly USA requested changes; after adaptations, the policy was made available to targeted NJ hospitals via a statewide portal. The hospitals made relevant adaptations for their setting, and those that were ready submitted the policy during the Baby-Friendly designation process. The policy was acceptable to Baby-Friendly USA.ConclusionA collaborative initiative can use a single breastfeeding policy template as an aid toward Baby-Friendly designation. Such work streamlines the process and saves time and resources.

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