Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center and three other Legacy hospitals have been internationally recognized as baby-friendly birth hospitals.
The World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, deemed Legacy Salmon Creek, Legacy Good Samaritan, Legacy Emanuel and Legacy Meridian Park baby-friendly birth facilities after Legacy invested in a four-year process to reform traditional practices surrounding breast-feeding.
Baby-friendly hospitals promote breast-feeding and encourage mother-baby bonding by helping newborns breast-feed within the first hour, keeping newborns with mothers rather than in a nursery, avoiding pacifier use and not sending mothers home with free formula, according to a news release from Legacy.
“The benefits of breast-feeding to both mother and baby are indisputable,” said Dr. Lauren Rose, medical director of Legacy Family Birth Centers, in a news release. “Breast-feeding can be a very rewarding part of becoming a new mother, but it can also be one of the hardest. Becoming baby-friendly has allowed Legacy to create a supportive hospital environment that gives new moms a strong foundation for the breast-feeding process while they are still in the hospital and will benefit them even after they go home.”
