Jacksonville, FL – ICARE won commitments in 2009 from six area hospitals to seek the World Health Organization (WHO) “Baby Friendly” certification, a process that involves substantial training and personnel compliance among hospital staff to increase successful breast feeding for mothers before leaving the hospital. In spite of studies that show “Baby Friendly” certification lowers infant mortality (i.e., the number of children below the age of 1 per 1000 live births that die each year), few American hospitals are certified as “Baby Friendly.” Representatives from each of the six hospitals have met monthly with ICARE leaders to complete the ten step process toward WHO certification. All of the area hospitals have made progress toward the intensive certification process, and two hospitals have been certified “Baby Friendly.” This has played a major role in Duvall County’s infant mortality rate reaching a 20-year low. When all six area hospitals achieve this designation, Duval County will be the first and only county in the country to be “Baby Friendly.”
