Essentia Health-Virginia receives breastfeeding-friendly recognition

Essentia Health-Virginia's steps to promote and support breastfeeding and infant-feeding best practices has earned a five-star rating, the highest possible score, through the Minnesota Breastfeeding Friendly Birth Center Recognition Program.

Overseen by the Minnesota Department of Health, the Five-Star Recognition award is based on the World Health Organization’s Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, a set of comprehensive policies and practices shown to increase breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity. Birthing centers in Minnesota receive a star for every two steps achieved. The steps include:

• Having a comprehensive infant-feeding policy.
• Educating new parents about the benefits of breastfeeding.
• Ensuring birthing parents and babies have skin-to-skin contact following birth.
• Keeping parents and babies together throughout their hospital stay.

“We know this level of care has been in high demand,” said Sam Stone, administrator at Essentia Health-Virginia. “This recognition reflects our commitment to meet the needs of our patients and the community. It’s a testament to the hard work of our care teams, who are passionate about ensuring the care our region needs is provided close to home.”

Human milk is a foundational way to ensure that babies receive optimal nutrition during the formative years of their life. Studies show infants who receive human milk have better health outcomes as they grow. It also reduces later risks of obesity and disease, such as certain types of cancers. Breastfeeding is important for both mother and child in reducing risk of future cardiovascular disease. In addition, breastfeeding mothers have a reduced risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and osteoporosis. MDH recognizes organizations that have taken a leadership role in improving breastfeeding rates and meeting Healthy People 2030 goals.

Essentia Health-Virginia is proud to add three International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants. With these additions, we now have five staff members dedicated to helping moms breastfeed. They serve as members of the maternal-child health team at our Baby Friendly-designated hospital. Essentia offers several breastfeeding-education options to help teach moms and their partners about ways to avoid common problems, breastfeeding supplies and best practices for successful breastfeeding.