Cape Cod Hospital Awarded Baby-Friendly Designation
On Sept. 8, 2022, The Family Birthplace at Cape Cod Hospital received a special delivery of good news. The maternity unit was awarded the prestigious Baby-Friendly Hospital designation, which recognizes its commitment to excellence in maternal and infant care.
The Baby-Friendly Hospital initiative, launched in 1991 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer mothers the information, confidence and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.
For a hospital to be considered for a Baby-Friendly designation, they must fully comply with the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding—evidenced-based practices that have been shown to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration. Systems must also implement and follow the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes—a framework that defines how hospitals may obtain formula.
Cape Cod Hospital joins 600 Baby-Friendly facilities across the country and is the 17th out of 47 hospitals in the state to receive this designation. In order for the hospital to reach this important milestone, Baby Friendly USA (BFUSA) interviewed CCHC staff, including nurses, pediatricians, lactation consultants and obstetricians, reviewed infant-feeding policies and also interviewed patients about their prenatal education. A CCHC breast-feeding task force met once a month and prepared for the Baby Friendly assessments, which were held virtually in two separate visits about six months apart. The assessment also reviewed staff education to ensure all of the nurses relayed consistent messaging to moms.
Health benefits of evidence-based practices
Although the name may be slightly misleading—birthing facilities are certainly all baby friendly—its core tenet is implementing exceptional evidence-based practices that lead to health benefits for moms and babies, including breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact.
“It’s the gold standard of care,” says Diane Robertson-Milliken, BSN, RN, IBCLC, Lactation Consultant for Cape Cod Hospital. “It’s about giving these moms the confidence that they can understand their babies’ communication style and skills, and educating them about benefits of breastfeeding.”
Jennifer Lacasse, Director of Women’s and Children’s Services at Cape Cod Hospital, emphasizes this designation is about breastfeeding—and so much more, such as encouraging mothers to hold their babies skin-to-skin immediately following birth and “rooming-in,” having the baby stay in the mother’s hospital room as opposed to a nursery.
“Skin to skin also improves temperature regulation, bonding with mom, blood glucose levels—just that transition into life,” says Lacasse.
The long road to Baby-Friendly designation
The journey to achieving this exceptional standard of care takes about five years, says Heather Lakatos, BSN, RN, IBCLC, Lactation Consultant for Cape Cod Hospital. “In March of 2020, we were 10 days away from our assessment, and then COVID shut everything down,” says Lakatos. Other challenges along the way included implementing EPIC, a new electronic medical records system, all during the pandemic.
The maternity team started the Baby-Friendly pathway in June 2016 after attending the Mother Baby Summit, an annual conference where all maternity facilities in Massachusetts get together and share ideas on current, evidence-based practices and how to navigate this pathway. “We were inspired, and we thought, ‘We can do this,’ says Lakatos, “and we pitched it to our providers who were on board with it.” The maternity staff collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of managers, providers, pediatricians, nutrition managers, quality improvement and purchasing. “It was a hospital-wide effort,” says Lakatos.
Robertson-Milliken adds the education piece helped the entire staff feel confident about their roles. “I have been here for 21 years and I had never received any formal breastfeeding education during my orientation for labor and delivery and post-partum,” says Robertson-Milliken. “I was passionate about it. I think it’s important because you’re asking people to provide this service and maybe someone hasn’t received instructional information.” Lakatos boasts the hospital has a 90 percent breastfeeding rate and between 65 and 70 percent of moms are breastfeeding exclusively when they go home.
Next steps and high praise for Dr. Agel
Now that Cape Cod Healthcare has achieved this gold standard, what’s next for the team?
“We are not designated forever,” says Lacasse. “We have to reapply every three years for this designation. Every year, we have to turn in a quality project to Baby Friendly and be assessed on our practices.”
The maternity staff also gives high praise to William Agel, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Cape Cod Healthcare and an OB/GYN specialist. “He kept the train going at a higher level, pioneered this designation and kept the staff going,” says Robertson-Milliken.
“The Baby-Friendly designation reflects the entire staff’s dedication to the care and well-being of our patients,” says Dr. Agel. “We have a talented staff that cares deeply about what they do, how they do it and why they do it.”
Learn more about our Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and the benefits of delivering in a Baby-Friendly facility.
Pictured in photo: Diane Robertson-Milliken, Alissa Krieger-Dewitt, new moms Jen Godoi (with baby Louisa) and Kylie Cocozza (with baby Quinn), Jennifer Lacasse and Heather Lakatos attend a recent postpartum party at the Lorusso Boardroom at Cape Cod Hospital.
