The Centretown Community Health Centre is now a “baby-friendly” site, designated by the World Health Organization and UNICEF as part of their “Baby-Friendly Initiative” to promote and support breastfeeding around the world.
The CCHC joined the Somerset West Community Health Centre on Feb. 23 as one of only two health centres in Ottawa with the designation.
The Somerset centre received its designation in 2007 and will be reassessed this year.
Excluding Quebec, there are 15 institutions in Canada that have a baby-friendly designation.
“A lot of places in Ontario already have good practices, it’s just a matter of having them recognized,” says Louise Gilbert, a baby-friendly assessor from the Breastfeeding Council of Canada, which oversees the Baby-Friendly Initiative across the country.
“It’s really encouraging to see that two of our community health centres have been taking steps to improve breastfeeding support in the community.”
According to the World Health Organization, breastfeeding until a baby is six months old improves the health of the child by creating a strong immune system and supplying proper nutrition right from birth.
In order to receive a designation as baby-friendly, a centre must not supply free sample baby formulas as a substitute for breastfeeding and must implement a number of steps as outlined by the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
These steps include training staff, providing information and support necessary for mothers to make an informed decision and showing them how to breastfeed properly.
According to Gilbert, in the case where mothers are unable to produce the amount of milk required for their baby to gain weight, baby formula and other options are discussed to supplement feeding.
The CCHC offers prenatal appointments for its clients, and follows them closely with a check-up within 48 hours of discharge from hospital after the baby is born to ensure feeding is going well.
The centre also has a breastfeeding support drop-in time, which is open to everyone.