Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative

In 1999, Boston Medical Center (BMC) became the 22nd hospital in the United States to achieve Baby-Friendly status, fully implementing the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative - USA (BFHI), Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. BMC increased their breastfeeding rates by more than 17 percent. This Baby-Friendly designation has proven to be an effective strategy to increase breastfeeding initiation rates in U.S. hospital settings. The overall goal of the BFHI is to recognize hospitals and maternity centers that demonstrate their commitment to providing an optimal environment for breastfeeding mothers by fulfilling the standards outlined in the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, as laid out by WHO and UNICEF in 1989, then reconfirmed in 1990.

The goal of the project was to increase breastfeeding initiation rates through the implementation of Baby-Friendly policies.

Maternal and infant demographics of BMC for 1995, 1998, and 1999 were comparable. The breastfeeding initiation rate increased from 58 percent (1995) to 86.5 percent (1999). Infants exclusively breastfed increased from 5.5 percent (1995) to 28.5 percent (1998) to 33.5 percent (1999). Initiation rates increased among U.S. African-American mothers in the population from 34 percent (1995) to 64 percent (1998) to 74 percent (1999).