BCC Receives 1.3M To Improve Maternal-Infant Health Through Breastfeeding!

We are pleased to share some very exciting news from the BCC Board. The BCC is excited to announce that the Public Health Agency of Canada is funding $1.3 million over five years to improve maternal infant health by increasing breastfeeding rates in Canada.  The primary aim of the project is to revitalize and expand implementation of the Baby-Friendly Initiative in Canada.  The project will adapt, implement and evaluate a national quality improvement initiative with 25 participating hospitals.  Hospitals will be invited to apply for this opportunity in the coming months and will be supported through a national learning collaborative with a series of workshops and webinars as they move forward on their BFI journey.

Michelle LeDrew has been awarded the position of National BCC Baby-Friendly Project Director and will provide leadership to the BCC funded projects. Michelle has volunteered with the BCC for the past 17 years and is a Lead Baby-Friendly Assessor.  She is past co-chair of the BCC Assessment Committee and the BCC Board. Michelle is passionate about improving maternal infant health and recognizes that breastfeeding is an important opportunity to support individual families as well as improve population health. She has worked in public health and acute care environments as a Registered Nurse and Senior Health Leader for the past 26 years.  Most recently, Michelle was the Director, Women's and Newborn Health Program at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. The IWK Health Centre is a tertiary centre with over 4800 births annually and a 40 bed NICU. In July 2018, the IWK was designated Baby-Friendly.  Michelle is thrilled to have the opportunity to work collaboratively across Canada to spread the uptake of BFI and is eager to get started.

Baby business:Is the milk formula industry too powerful?

Breast milk has become a political issue. At the World Health Assembly the US opposed a resolution promoting breast feeding. Are governments bowing to the food industry at the expense of child health? Do infant formula manufacturers have too much power? Joining us at the Roundtable is Alice Delemare, Campaign adviser at Changing Markets; Patti Rundall, Policy Director at Baby Milk Action; Sabita Uthaya, Consultant in Neonatal Medicine at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital; and Mitch Blair, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Public Health at Imperial College London. Roundtable is a discussion programme with an edge. Broadcast out of London and presented by David Foster, it's about bringing people to the table, listening to every opinion, and analysing every point of view. From fierce debate to reflective thinking, Roundtable discussions offer a different perspective on the issues that matter to you.

https://www.trtworld.com/video/roundtable/baby-business-is-the-milk-formula-industry-too-powerful/5b59dbf60ab8e2110baea6c5

Baby-Friendly Initiative: Key Messages and Resources has arrived!

The newest document from BFI Ontario and the Best Start Resource Centre is now available to download. You can find it here!