The maternity unit at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester has been awarded a prestigious international award for its dedicated approach to promoting breast feeding.

The Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative accredits maternity and community facilities which adopt internationally-recognised standards of best practice.

The midwifery team at Wythenshawe is committed to promoting breast feeding due to its numerous health benefits for mother and baby.

These include reduced risk of obesity, diabetes, respiratory tract infection and gastrointeritis for baby and a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer for the mother.

To raise awareness and equip staff with the skills to support new mothers in breastfeeding, the team has delivered in-depth training for a wide range of staff from doctors to healthcare assistants.

They have also trained women to act as peer support workers, providing advice and guidance to other new mums.

Community midwife Kath Cooper comments, "We are delighted to receive this award.

"It reflects our hard work in establishing audits, policies and training focused on supporting and encouraging women to breast feed.

"Many women struggle with breast feeding at first, for example many women are surprised that new babies feed so often but skilled midwives can reassure them that this is normal, and a small amount of breast milk provides all the nutrients a baby requires".