Colorado Baby-Friendly Hospital Collaborative

Hospitals that are members of the Colorado Baby-Friendly Hospital Collaborative:

• *Aspen Valley Hospital, Aspen
• Avista Adventist Hospital, Louisville
• *Boulder Community Hospital, Boulder
• Community Hospital, Grand Junction
• *Delta County Memorial Hospital, Delta
• Denver Health, Denver
• *Estes Park Health, Estes Park
• Evans Army Community Hospital, Fort Carson
• *Good Samaritan Medical Center, Lafayette
• Gunnison Valley Health, Gunnison
• Littleton Adventist Hospital, Littleton
• Longs Peak Hospital - Longmont
• *Lutheran Medical Center, Wheat Ridge
• McKee Medical Center, Loveland
• Mercy Regional Medical Center, Durango
• *Memorial Hospital Central, Colorado Springs
• *Memorial Hospital North, Colorado Springs
• Parker Adventist Hospital, Parker
• Parkview Medical Center, Pueblo
• Platte Valley Medical Center, Brighton
• St. Anthony North Medical Center, Westminster
• *St. Elizabeth Hospital, Fort Morgan
• *St. Francis Medical Center, Colorado Springs
• *St. Joseph Hospital, Denver
• *St. Mary’s Medical Center, Grand Junction
• *University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora
• *Valley View Hospital, Glenwood Springs
• Wray Community District Hospital - Wray

*Hospitals are Baby-Friendly designated by Baby-Friendly USA, Inc.

​Any hospital may join the Collaborative, regardless of whether the facility is pursuing or maintaining Baby-Friendly designation.

Steps to Join the Collaborative:

1. Review the Collaborative information letter and Baby-Friendly info handout for hospitals. Share materials with hospital leadership. 

2. Review the Collaborative Charter and have it signed by a member of hospital leadership.

3. Email the signed Charter to Stacy.Miller@state.co.us and provide contact information for all staff interested in being included in email contacts from the Collaborative.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a global program started in 1991 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to assist and recognize hospitals that offer an optimal level of care for parents and babies. Baby-Friendly USA implements the BFHI in the United States. Currently, more than 600 hospitals and birthing centers in the United States and more than 22,000 facilities worldwide are Baby-Friendly designated.

BFHI follows three core principles:

1. Human milk fed through direct breastfeeding is the optimal way for human infants to be nurtured and nourished.

2. The precious first days in the birth facility should be protected as a time of bonding and support not influenced by commercial interests.

3. Every mother should be informed about the importance of breastfeeding and respected to make her own decision.

To adhere to guidelines and become recognized as Baby-Friendly, facilities must implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.

The Ten Steps includes procedures important for the health and well-being of parent and baby.

• With an educated staff, a facility is able to inform all parents and give them the confidence and skills necessary to successfully begin and continue breastfeeding or safely feed formula.

• BFHI is about education, allowing each parent to make an informed decision about what is best for their own family.

• Other aspects of the Ten Steps include practicing rooming-in, where parent and baby remain together during the hospital stay, breastfeeding initiation within the first hour after birth, and breastfeeding education and discharge support to help parents know where to get help.

Handouts & resources

• Baby-Friendly Info for Hospitals - handout

• Baby-Friendly Info for Families-to-Be - handout

• The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative - Baby-Friendly USA, Inc.

Webinars

• The Business Case for Baby-Friendly: Building A Family-Centered Birthing Environment - 2020 Colorado Hospital Breastfeeding Summit - Lori Feldman-Winter, MD, MPH

• Greatest Impact for Good - 2020 Colorado Hospital Breastfeeding Summit - Susan Callaway, BSN, RN, IBCLC

• Breastfeeding and Health Equity in the Maternity Care Setting - 2020 Colorado Hospital Breastfeeding Summit - Rose St. Fleur, MD, FAAP, FABM, IBCLC

Webinars

All CBFHC webinar recordings can be found in this Google folder.

• State of Breastfeeding in Colorado 2017 - ​Quality Improvement slides | 2017 Colorado Breastfeeding Data.

• Formula for Success 2016 webinar | ​Introduction slides | Formula Attestation slides.

• Education is Key 2016 webinar | CBFHC slides | St. Francis Baby Friendly | Sustainability | St. Francis Post Test Answer Key PDF | Word version.

• ​Designation Dreams 2016 webinar |  Slides | Data Collection | Ensuring Safe Skin-to-Skin.

• Hot Topics & Research Updates in Maternity Care 2016 webinar.

• Wrap It Up!: Finalizing Your Baby-Friendly Journey webinar | Slides | Boulder Community Baby-Friendly Site Assessment Visit.

• Anticipating the Finish Line: Preparing for the Site Visit and Final Barriers 2015 webinar | Alternative Feeding Methods | The Fourth-D in the Pathway: Designation.

• Setting the Course: Implementing Guidelines and Overcoming Barriers on Your Journey 2015 webinar | Slides | Boulder: Baby-Friendly Provider Education slides.

• ​​Sharing Best Practices for Accomplishing Skills Competencies for Maternity Staff 2014 webinar.

• Step 3: Prenatal Connections, Dec. 2013.

• Data Collection: The Joint Commission and Baby-Friendly Requirements: Karen Peters, MBA, RD, IBCLC, executive director, Breastfeed LA, September 2013.

Additional Resources

• Lactation toolkits & resources

• Colorado breastfeeding data

• Hospital & health care provider resources

• Celebrate 6 Award of Breastfeeding Excellence

• Breastfeeding parents and families

• How much does it cost to implement the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative training step in the United States and Mexico? - 2022.

• Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative Is Associated with Lower Rates of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia - 2020.

• Trends in Breastfeeding Interventions, Skin-to-Skin Care, and Sudden Infant Death in the First 6 Days after Birth - 2019.

• Addressing Racial Inequities in Breastfeeding in the Southern United States - 2018.

• Baby-Friendly Practices Minimize Newborn Infants Weight Loss - 2018.

• Systematic Review of Evidence for Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative Step 3: Prenatal Breastfeeding Education - 2017. 

• Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and Breastfeeding Among WIC-Participating Infants in Los Angeles County - 2017.

• Impact of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative on breastfeeding and child health outcomes: a systematic review - 2016.

• Baby-Friendly Hospital Practices and Meeting Exclusive Breastfeeding Intention - 2012.

• Cost Comparison of Baby Friendly and Non-Baby Friendly Hospitals in the United States - 2011.

• Breastfeeding Rates in U.S. Baby-Friendly Hospitals: Results of a National Survey - 2005.

All of the above journal articles and additional hospital/health care provider resources can be found in this Google folder. 

Additional reports and articles

• Colorado Black Breastfeeding Report - 2021.

• Voices of Black Mothers: The Baby-Friendly Experience - 2021. 

• Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Breastfeeding Initiation - United States, 2019 - CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report, 2021.

• The Business Case for Baby-Friendly: Building A Family-Centered Birthing Environment - 2020 Colorado Hospital Breastfeeding Summit - Lori Feldman-Winter, MD, MPH

• The Business Case for Becoming a Baby-Friendly Hospital for hospital CEOs: Marianne Neifert, M.D., FAAP, 2013 | Speaker handout.

• The Business Case for Becoming a Baby-Friendly Hospital, Parts 1 & 2: Marianne Neifert, M.D., FAAP, 2013 | Speaker handout.

• Linking Direction and Motivation to Engender Staff Buy-In: Marianne Neifert, M.D., FAAP, 2013 | Speaker handout.

• Hiking the Mountain One Step at a Time: The Path to Baby-Friendly: Karen Peters, MBA, RD, IBCLC, executive director, Breastfeed LA, 2013 | Speaker handout.

• Influencing Behavior Change - Hand Washing video, 2013.

Visit the hospital and health care provider webpage for additional resources.

• Colorado Lactation toolkits and resources.

• World Health Organization (WHO).

  • Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

  • BFHI Tools, Ten Steps Guide and Infographics.

• National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ).

  • Quality Improvement Initiative Brings National Change to Breastfeeding Support.

  • Cultural Sensitivity for Better Breastfeeding Outcomes.

• Best Fed Beginnings 2011-2015.

  • American Academy of Pediatrics - Best Fed Beginnings: A Nationwide Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Breastfeeding.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

  • Hospital Support for Breastfeeding.

  • Safety in Maternity Care.

  • EMPower Breastfeeding - Hospital-based quality improvement initiative leading to Baby-Friendly designation.

• The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.

• U.S. Preventative Services Task Force - Breastfeeding: Primary Care Interventions.

• American Hospital Association (AHA) - The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative: Improving Maternity Care and Increasing Breastfeeding Rates.

• Texas 10 Step Program.

• Identifying and Addressing Implementation Issues presentation.

Donor human milk

• Mothers’ Milk Bank - Colorado.

• Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA).

• Breast milk sharing - handout for families.