22 December 2021

We are delighted to announce that our Maternity Services have once again been awarded the internationally recognised UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) Gold Award. This accreditation was also achieved separately by our Special Care Baby Unit in the Borders General Hospital.

NHS Borders is one of only three health boards in Scotland to receive this prestigious award in recognition of their excellent and sustained practice in the support of infant feeding and parent-infant relationships.

The BFI accreditation, set up by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO), is a globally recognised programme based on a set of evidence-based standards which are designed to provide parents with the best possible care. In addition, the programme aims to help parents build close and loving relationships with their baby and to feed them in ways which support positive health and development.

Health boards implement these standards in stages over a number of years and are externally assessed by UNICEF UK at each stage. Those who achieve the Gold Award, which is the highest level of accreditation, undergo further rigorous assessments on various aspects of their service including the promotion of baby friendly standards, the culture within teams, monitoring of baby friendly standards over a sustained period of time and how services continue to develop and maintain these standards.

Interim Lead Midwife at NHS Borders, Kirsteen Guthrie, said: “This outstanding achievement, which represents our true core values, is a credit to our maternity team for their hard work and commitment during a challenging time. One of the main aims of the Baby Friendly Initiative is actively encouraging mothers to make an informed feeding choice. We achieve this by providing mums with the appropriate information, advice and support which takes into consideration their circumstances and focuses on close loving relationships.  

“When mums decide to breastfeed this provides health benefits for both mum and baby such as reducing their baby’s risk of infections, diarrhoea and vomiting. There are also lifelong health benefits with breastfed babies having reduced rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease in adulthood. In addition to these benefits mums who breastfeed lower their risk of breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and obesity.”

Director of Nursing at NHS Borders and BFI Guardian, Sarah Horan, added: “Receiving the UNICEF UK BFI Gold Award again is an amazing achievement which really highlights the dedication and commitment of our colleagues across maternity services and public health. This celebration of excellent practice in infant feeding support shows the important role that our health care staff play in nurturing the development of parent-infant relationships.

“I would like to thank our midwives, maternity care assistants, doctors, volunteer peer supporters and all of those involved for their hard work. We will continue to build upon this success into the new year and beyond to ensure that families in the Borders receive the best support possible.”

Further Information: 

For further information visit the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative website.

Benefits of breastfeeding include:

  • Breast milk is perfectly designed for babies
  • Breastfeeding is free, convenient and always ready to use – there’s no need to sterilise bottles or teats
  • Breast milk helps protect babies from infections and diseases
  • Breastfeeding can build a strong emotional bond between babies and their mothers
  • Breastfeeding provides health benefits for women, their infants and society as a whole

You may also find information about ‘Breastfeeding in the Borders Support’ useful.