Oldham Royal was one of the first in Britain to gain the Unicef 'Baby Friendly' accreditation for maternity units which provide high levels of breast feeding care.
Unicef ambassador and mother-of-two Elle said: "Breast feeding should be such a wonderful and normal activity, yet these days it is often portrayed as difficult and only for those with superhuman skills. By ensuring help is offered to every mother, thousands more babies will benefit from the uniquely life-enhancing properties of breast milk."
Since the accreditation was first awarded, breast feeding initiation rates in the Oldham region have risen from 23 per cent in 1999 to 67 per cent in 2009. Unicef officer Anne Strong said: "Breast feeding at an early age can improve a child's health. It can reduce problems like obesity and potentially save the NHS millions."
North Manchester Hospital also had `Baby Friendly' status reinstated after a two year absence.
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curiousyellow, Rusholme (24/06/2009 at 08:29)
Our son was born there in late 2000 with mild jaundice and had to stay in for observation/tests for a number of days. My wife desperately wanted to breastfeed but couldn't. She was pushed and pushed to the stage where she was bullied into continuing when our son desperately needed milk but wasn't getting any. His weight over the next 3 days dropped alarmingly, and my wife was continually made to feel inadequate because she couldn't not wouldn't breastfeed.
We both firmly believe this just for them to keep their accreditation.
Needless to say we elected to have our next child at Rochdale, a far better hospital than Oldham.