Baby-Friendly USA has announced that Hannibal Regional Hospital in Hannibal, MO, has received prestigious international recognition as a Baby-Friendly™ birth facility. Hannibal Regional Hospital is the only Baby-Friendly designated facility in the state of Missouri.

The Chris Coons’ Women’s Care Center at Hannibal Regional Hospital has been working towards this designation for the past five years.  The Baby Friendly designation has allowed Chris Coons’ Women’s Care Center to change the culture of birthing babies into a culture of family-centered maternity care.

Focused efforts have integrated a safe medical environment with an evidence-based educational environment which prepares new parents to care for their baby with confidence.  Specific initiatives that have been implemented include:

 Ten Steps for Successful Breastfeeding;

• Family quiet time from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily
• Education for parents to learn how to calm their crying infant with the five S’s: Swaddling, Side/Stomach Position, Shushing Sounds, Swinging, Sucking
• Updates to education materials
• Redesign of Childbirth Education classes to reflect family-centered maternity care
• Breast Feeding Support Line and weekly breastfeeding support groups held on Monday nights and Wednesday mornings
• Designation of a lactation room for all breastfeeding mothers

The Baby-Friendly designation is awarded following completion of a rigorous on-site survey.  Based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, this prestigious international award recognizes birth facilities that offer breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding. The award is maintained by continuing to practice the Ten Steps as demonstrated by quality processes.

Hannibal Regional Hospital President and CEO John Grossmeier said, “Hospitals have a unique opportunity to encourage and assist mothers with the initiation and continued support of breastfeeding.” “With the dedicated participation of members of the hospital’s departments of obstetrics and pediatrics and the clinical team of the Chris Coons’ Womens Care Center, we have been able to achieve a level of patient-centered care achieved by fewer than 85 hospitals in the United States,” Mr. Grossmeier continued. “Hannibal Regional Hospital is honored by the Baby-Friendly™ designation and, more importantly, pleased to be able to bring this level of care to our region.”

Studies have shown that breastfeeding translates to better health for both babies and mothers and health benefits persist throughout life. Babies who are breastfed have fewer and less serious illnesses, including a reduced risk of SIDS and less childhood cancer and diabetes. Mothers who breastfeed enjoy decreased risks of breast and ovarian cancer, anemia, and osteoporosis.

Baby-Friendly USA is the U.S. authority for the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).   The initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. The CDC reports that less than 2% of hospitals providing birthing services in the United States are Baby-Friendly designated. Hannibal Regional Hospital is now among this elite group. Currently there are 83 Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers in the United States.

For more information regarding the Chris Coons’ Women’s Care Center at Hannibal Regional Hospital and services provided, please call 573- 406-5170.