Whiteriver Indian Hospital Achieves Baby-Friendly Status

In February, the Whiteriver Indian Hospital in Whiteriver, Arizona, became the 7th Baby-Friendly Hospital in the IHS system. Whiteriver's designation means that 54% of all IHS obstetric facilities are now Baby-Friendly, as Baby-Friendly becomes an official standard of care for American Indian and Alaska Native mothers and babies. Nationally, fewer than 6 percent of all U.S. hospitals are Baby-Friendly designated, making IHS a national leader in the Baby-Friendly field.

The IHS Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is part of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move! in Indian Country" campaign dedicated to solving childhood obesity within a generation. The IHS campaign aims to designate all IHS obstetric facilities as Baby-Friendly. This initiative promotes breastfeeding to reduce the risk that children will develop obesity and diabetes in the future, conditions to which American Indians and Alaska Natives are particularly prone. Baby-Friendly hospitals offer new mothers the information, confidence, and skills they need to initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.

Other IHS hospitals that have been Baby-Friendly designated are Claremore Indian Hospital (Oklahoma); Phoenix Indian Medical Center (Arizona); Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Health Care Facility (North Dakota); Pine Ridge Hospital (South Dakota); Rosebud Indian Hospital (South Dakota); and Zuni Comprehensive Community Health Center (New Mexico).