The Pro Vice Chancellor John Vinney, Sue Ashmore from Unicef and staff received the award today
Bournemouth University received the internationally-recognised Baby Friendly Initiative Award today for the high quality of education in breastfeeding provided to midwifery students.
The Award was presented by Sue Ashmore, Programme Director of the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative, presented the award to the staff and students today.
The Baby Friendly Initiative, set up by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, is a global programme which ensues that high levels of training in breastfeeding are incorporated in midwifery and health visitor training courses.
The University Award recognises that a university has implemented best practice in breastfeeding training, and has passed a thorough external assessment by UNICEF staff.
Sue said BU was particularly deserving of the award,
“The standard of the students skills, the practical skills and their communication skills; they could talk to mothers about how to breastfeed their babies and express their milk which was considered an exception, fantastic as these are people at the beginning of their career which aren’t even qualified yet.”
In September, second year midwifery students from BU underwent a rigorous assessment by UNICEF BFI of their breastfeeding knowledge and skills, achieving an outstanding result in all elements of the assessment. The BFI’s assessors described the students as ‘motivated, confident, knowledgeable and articulate’.
In its report, UNICEF BFI said “The students interviewed demonstrated an exceptional level of knowledge and skill. Their enthusiasm and motivation was also noted and it was clear from conversations during the interviews that the students were putting their knowledge and skills into practice on a regular basis.”
In accepting the award, Professor Paul Lewis, Associate Dean of Midwifery, Rehabilitation and Health Sciences, praised the students and his midwifery teaching team at BU for their exceptional performance.
Professor Lewis said,
“Breastfeeding provides significant health benefits to mothers, babies and our wider society. Breastfeeding protects babies against a wide range of serious illnesses including gastroenteritis and respiratory infections in infancy as well as allergies and diabetes in childhood. We also know that breastfeeding reduces the mother’s risk of some cancers – although mums might be more interested in hearing that it’s easier, cheaper and simply less hassle than bottle feeding.”
Sue Ashmore added that,
“Surveys show us that most mothers want to breastfeed but don’t always get the support they need. Becoming Baby Friendly Accredited means that Bournemouth University is addressing this problem and aiming to ensure more mothers can successfully breastfeed their babies in future.”
