Baby-Friendly USA recently announced that Ochsner St. Anne Hospital has received international recognition as a Baby-Friendly Designated birth facility. Ochsner St. Anne, along with partner hospital Terrebonne General Medical Center, is one of only two hospitals in the region and one of seven in the state to receive this recognition.
Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. is the United States authority for the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (“BFHI”), a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and family bonding. Based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, this prestigious international award recognizes birth facilities that offer mothers the environment, education, and support needed to successfully reach their goals.
In 2014, Ochsner St. Anne began a rigorous process in evaluating internal policies and processes to become one of the few hospitals in the state to earn the designation from BFUSA. As of September of 2017, the hospital boasted an impressive 79 percent breastfeeding initiation rate, with 72 percent of mother/infant pairs exclusively breastfeeding from birth until discharge. The hospital provides skin to skin care, rooming in, and couplet care for all families, regardless of delivery type. “Our staff is committed to providing quality care and giving every family a personalized experience; this is why we have worked so hard over the last three years to make the necessary changes,” said Crystal Risinger, Director of Women’s Services. Through these upgrades, the hospital has improved their primary cesarean section rate from 34% in 2016 to 17% in 2017.
Ochsner St Anne is here to support families before, during and after the birth of their child. Unique and specific classes are offered for parents, grandparents, and siblings, with focus on topics such as childbirth/lamaze, CPR, infant safety, and breastfeeding. Along with these free classes, support groups and lactation services are also offered free to their patients.
In 2017, Ochsner St. Anne was the first hospital in the state to implement infant safe sleep boxes to ensure that all babies born in their facility have a safe place to sleep. Only 22 percent of annual births in the United States occur at facilities providing this level of care.
Ochsner St. Anne is the second hospital in the Ochsner Health System to receive this prestigious award. All of Ochsner’s family birthing centers across the system are working toward receiving the Baby-Friendly designation, with Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge being the first in the state to receive this designation. For more information about Ochsner St. Anne General Hospital labor and delivery offerings, visit www.ochsner.org/stanne. For more information about the U.S. Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, visit www.babyfriendlyusa.org.