Baby-Friendly Initiative

KFL&A Public Health is Baby-Friendly

The Baby-Friendly Initiative is a global campaign to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding all around the world. 

The goal of the Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI) is to increase the rates of mothers who begin and continue to exclusively breastfeed. Through the BFI, all parents receive accurate and unbiased information and support to enable them to make informed decisions about infant feeding. All mothers and babies are supported to safely feed their baby, regardless of their feeding method. By empowering parents with more information and support, parents will feel more confident to breastfeed.

KFL&A Public Health has been designated as Baby-Friendly. As such, we are committed to providing the best evidence-based practice and breastfeeding support and care to women, infants, and families in our community.

To become designated as baby-friendly, we implemented the 10 steps to becoming a baby-friendly organization (PDF) and are compliant with the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. All health agencies in Ontario have been mandated to implement the Baby-Friendly Initiative.

KFL&A Public Health is committed to promoting breastfeeding and: 

• we support the infant feeding choices of all families.
• we provide families with information about feeding their babies.
• we have a policy that protects, promotes and supports breastfeeding. Our staff are trained to support breastfeeding families.
• we inform pregnant women and their families about the importance of breastfeeding.
• we encourage mothers and families to hold and feed their babies skin-to-skin as much as possible.
• we support mothers and familiesto feed their babies only breastmilk for the first six months and to continue to breastfeed adding solid foods at six months.
• we work with our community partners to support breastfeeding.
• we do not give out infant formula, bottles, nipples, or pacifiers.
• we support mothers to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.