Stage 3: Parents' experiences of community 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
- Support those who are pregnant to understand the evidence for breastfeeding and early relationships and their influence on the health and wellbeing of them and their baby
- Protect and support breastfeeding in all aspects of the service and enable mothers to continue breastfeeding for as long as they wish
- Support parents to make informed decisions regarding the introduction of food or fluids other than breastmilk
- Support parents to have a close and loving relationship with their baby
For further information on the community standards including the timeline for implementation, visit our webpage here.
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.
- FAQs on implementing Baby Friendly in early years services
- Stage 3 guidance and application form, which you can download from this page
- Sample mother consent form – see guidance document for further information
- Audit tools
- Breastfeeding assessment form
- Guidance on providing specialist support to breastfeeding mothers
- Guide on antenatal and postnatal conversations
- 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
- 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 facility and listening to mothers’ experiences of the care they have received.