HEALTH bosses in East Lancashire want to become baby-friendly to encourage mums to breast-feed their tots!
A pioneering course will be launched at Queen's Park Hospital's maternity unit in Blackburn next Wednesday to coincide with National Breast Feeding Awareness Week.
The three-day course, being offered to health professionals by the University of Central Lancashire, is part of the nationwide Baby-Friendly Initiative.
The initiative is backed by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF and aims to protect, promote and support breast-feeding worldwide. The initiative, launched in 1994, is based on Ten Steps to Successful Breast Feeding, essential measures adopted by hospitals and communities in order for Baby-Friendly status to be awarded.
The Blackburn and district NHS Trust and the CommuniCare NHS trusts have already made headway towards becoming Baby-Friendly.
The Blackburn course will be the first run in the UK using the new UNICEF course materials piloted in London in 1995.
Breast-feeding rates in the UK are among the poorest in Europe.
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