Stage 3: Parents' experiences of maternity services

Achieving Stage 3 of accreditation is the final step in becoming Baby Friendly. At this Stage, the care mothers and babies have received will be assessed, with the following standards needing to be met.

Standards

1. Support pregnant women to recognise the importance of breastfeeding and early relationships for the health and wellbeing of their baby.
2. Support all mothers and babies to initiate a close relationship and feeding soon after birth.
3. Enable mothers to get breastfeeding off to a good start.
4. Support mothers to make informed decisions regarding the introduction of food or fluids other than breastmilk.
5. Support parents to have a close and loving relationship with their baby.

Resources to help you meet the standards

More detailed information on how to meet the standards is in our Guide to the Baby Friendly Initiative standards. The following materials will also be helpful in implementing the standards for Stage 3.

• Stage 3 guidance and application form – which you can download from this page.
• Sample mother consent form – see guidance document for further information
• Guidance for antenatal and postnatal conversations
• Audit tools
• Breastfeeding assessment form
• Guidance on providing specialist support to breastfeeding mothers
• Skin-to-skin contact guidance
• Skin-to-skin contact research
• Responsive feeding infosheet
• Maximising breastmilk video
• Maximising breastmilk infopage
• Working with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes: A Guide for Health Workers
• Infant formula and responsive bottle feeding: a guide for parents
• Department of Health Guide to Bottle Feeding leaflet for parents
• Writing a hypoglycaemia policy
• Supplementation guidance
• Caring for your baby at night leaflet for parents and accompanying health professional’s guide
  
• Co-sleeping and SIDS guide for health professionals
• Building a happy baby leaflet for parents
• Breastfeeding and relationships in the early days video
• The importance of relationship building video
• See also our courses page

How we will assess the standards

Once internal audit results indicate that the standards are being achieved, the Stage 3 assessment can take place. This involves Baby Friendly assessors visiting your hospital and listening to mothers’ experiences of the care they have received.