SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital is now the first hospital in Sonoma County to earn Baby-Friendly designation, a national recognition for hospitals that meet evidence-based standards for infant feeding and newborn care.
The designation recognizes the hospital’s work to give families education and support around feeding and caring for their newborns during the first days after birth.
“Welcoming a new baby is an exciting time, and there is a lot for parents to learn,” said Nancy Ferry, inpatient care manager for the neonatal intensive care unit at Sutter Santa Rosa. “We want every family to leave feeling supported, informed and confident in caring for their baby.”
Baby-Friendly USA awards the designation to hospitals that implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, a set of evidence-based practices developed through the World Health Organization and UNICEF’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. The practices include staff training, prenatal education, skin-to-skin contact after birth, support for breastfeeding and keeping mothers and babies together during their hospital stay.
Hospitals must develop policies, train staff, collect data and demonstrate that they are following the required practices. They also undergo an on-site assessment by Baby-Friendly USA. The designation is valid for five years, with hospitals required to continue monitoring their practices and working to improve care.
“Every family is different, and every parent should make the feeding choices that are right for them,” Ferry said. “Our role is to make sure families have the information and support they need to make those decisions.”
Sutter Santa Rosa’s three-year effort involved nurses, physicians, lactation consultants and other care team members across the Family Birth Center and neonatal intensive care unit. Teams at Sutter’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center – Alta Bates Campus in Berkeley and Sutter’s CPMC in San Francisco, which are also Baby-Friendly designated, shared their experience and best practices to help the Santa Rosa team achieve the designation in record time.
More than 1,400 babies are born at Sutter Santa Rosa each year, making the new designation relevant to thousands of local families over time.
Sutter Santa Rosa’s Family Birth Center provides care throughout pregnancy, labor and delivery, while its Level III neonatal intensive care unit cares for premature and critically ill newborns. The hospital also offers lactation support, childbirth education and other resources for families before and after delivery.
