On August 7th, 2018, Flushing Hospital Medical Center hosted a breastfeeding informational table in its lobby in observation of World Breast Feeding Week and to celebrate receiving official designation as a Baby-Friendly USA® Hospital.
The event was attended by many hospital staff members, administrators, visitors and special guest, Congresswoman Grace Meng. The Congresswoman presented a Certificate of Recognition from the U.S. House of Representatives and the NYC Council on behalf of Council Member Peter Koo to honor the hospital’s achievement.
To receive Baby-Friendly® status, institutions must successfully implement the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” which include providing appropriate education to enable families to make informed decisions about infant feeding, encouraging mothers to hold their babies skin-to-skin immediately following birth, and offering expert lactation support throughout and beyond the hospital stay. Baby-Friendly® practices are designed to optimize mother-baby bonding and to protect, promote and support breastfeeding in the first few days of a new baby’s life.
Flushing Hospital has successfully fulfilled the requirements for Baby-Friendly® designation by implementing several breastfeeding initiatives within the hospital and in the communities it serves.
“We serve a diverse population of patients at Flushing Hospital with representation of many different ethnicities and cultures. We are proud to provide breastfeeding education in several languages at public libraries and offer classes and support groups at our facility, free of charge,” stated Maria D. Smilios, Director of Nursing.
“Our goal is to educate expectant mothers on how breastfeeding is a key nutritional value for their newborns, and how it fortifies bonding between the new mom and baby,” shared Jimena Grimaldi, Lactation Consultant.
Flushing Hospital’s goals are in line with Healthy People 2020 breastfeeding objectives put in place by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services- to increase the number of infants that have ever breastfed to 81% and increase the number of infants breastfeeding at six months of age to 60.6%.
“Each year, Flushing Hospital delivers approximately 3,000 babies, and we strongly support the philosophy that every child has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, beginning with providing mothers with the resources needed on how to supply their babies with the best nutrition possible,” explained Smilios.
To read the Times Ledger article on our accomplishment visit – https://www.timesledger.com/stories/2018/32/flushinghospital_2018_08_10_q.html