Baby-Friendly USA

BFUSA Welcomes Dr. Lisa Eiland, Neonatologist, to its Board of Directors

Jonathan Small — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 14:34:01 +0000

“I've just always loved babies.” That’s how Dr. Lisa Eiland, Division Lead for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, in Hackensack, New Jersey, describes what drew her to the field of Neonatology. “As they start their lives, babies are a blank slate that Read more

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Recommends the Ten Steps as Standard of Care

Jonathan Small — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 17:19:55 +0000

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has issued a new report, Breastfeeding in the United States: Strategies to Support Families and Achieve National Goals, which analyzes breastfeeding promotion, initiation, and support across the United States and makes recommendations to encourage and support breastfeeding. One of the report’s key recommendations is to “ensure every Read more

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BFUSA Welcomes Patrice Davis to its Board of Directors

Jonathan Small — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:22:38 +0000

“I love this organization. Its mission is my mission.” That’s how Patrice Davis, DNP, FNP-C, RNC-MNN, IBCLC, explains why she accepted the offer to become the newest member of BFUSA’s Board of Directors without a second thought. “I truly believe that every hospital should have the 10 Steps as a standard,” she continues. “Just like Read more

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Katz Women’s Hospital at NSUH Achieves Large-Scale Change En Route to Baby-Friendly Designation

Jonathan Small — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 16:11:32 +0000

After Marianne McTyre and Rachel Cascone, leaders of the Baby-Friendly effort at Katz Women’s Hospital at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH), met with their BFUSA surveyors at the end of their assessment visit in April 2025, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. “We all started crying,” recalls Rachel (pictured, front row), a Read more

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BFUSA Welcomes New Board Member, LaToshia Rouse

Jonathan Small — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 20:10:41 +0000

How does someone go from being an accountant/comptroller at a large nonprofit organization to being an accomplished birth and postpartum doula, lactation consultant, and now the newest member of Baby-Friendly USA’s Board of Directors? That’s the unusual and distinctive life path of LaToshia Rouse, CD/CPD, SpBCPE. “I was nowhere near healthcare,” says LaToshia. “But having Read more

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Celebrating Boston Medical Center’s 25 Years of Baby-Friendly Designation

Jonathan Small — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:34:18 +0000

Boston Medical Center (BMC), an inner-city, safety net hospital in Boston’s South End, was one of the first facilities in the nation to become Baby-Friendly designated. They were designated before the turn of the century! — in December 1999 — and have sustained their commitment to Baby-Friendly practices ever since. BFUSA recognized this remarkable Read more

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Team Effort at Beverly Hospital Leads to Long-Awaited Baby-Friendly Designation

Jonathan Small — Mon, 05 May 2025 21:37:38 +0000

Anna McNicholas, RN, MSN, CCRN, Nurse Manager and Baby-Friendly Coordinator for Beverly Hospital in Beverly, Massachusetts, didn’t know what to expect when she received a call from Melissa Cho, BFUSA’s Accreditation Director. “It was my day off, but I didn’t want to wait to hear,” says Anna. “I made her repeat it three times before Read more

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Study Finds BFHI Practices Mitigate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Breastfeeding Success

Jonathan Small — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 13:50:55 +0000

In the United States today, the likelihood of a mother receiving the support she needs to meet her breastfeeding goals is heavily influenced by race and ethnicity—with Black and Hispanic mothers about 40% less likely than White mothers to breastfeed for as long as they intend (Hamner et al., 2021). Racial and ethnic disparities in Read more

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Barton Health Gets Across the Baby-Friendly Finish Line

Jonathan Small — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:58:29 +0000

“I received a voicemail on a Friday afternoon from Melissa Cho, the Director of Accreditation at BFUSA, saying, ‘If you have a moment, please give us a call.’ I was afraid she was going to tell me something was wrong, or that we were missing something in our designation process.” That’s how Adam Grey, the Read more

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Hospitals Rated “Best” for Maternity Care Are More Likely To Be Baby-Friendly Designated

Jonathan Small — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 23:07:45 +0000

Utilizing objective measures of quality such as C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, severe unexpected newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, birthing-friendly practices, and reporting on racial/ethnic disparities, U.S. News has published its list of the 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care. 139 of the 414 hospitals on the list (34%) are Baby-Friendly designated. Read more

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