The main hospital trust for Brighton and Hove has been recognised for its success in encouraging mothers to breastfeed their newborn babies.
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust has been named in the top ten of maternity services in the country for encouraging and supporting new mothers to breastfeed.
Figures released by NHS England show that the trust currently has a breastfeeding initiation rate of 91 per cent.
This is the tenth best nationally and the best in the Kent, Surrey and Sussex area.
The statistics also show that the Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group is the top CCG in England for women to be exclusively breastfeeding their babies at six to eight weeks post-delivery.
Chief nurse Sherree Fagge said: “This is a wonderful achievement and is testament to the good work of the dedicated team of midwives, maternity support workers and maternity assistants who support women in the first few weeks after their baby is born.
“Breastfeeding is proven to have long-term health benefits for mothers and their babies and it is so important women get the encouragement and support to help them get started and keep going.”
Lead nurse for women’s services and head of midwifery Emma Luhr said: “The reason we are doing so well is that we have very motivated staff and, as a trust, promoting and supporting breastfeeding is part of our culture.
“We are part of the World Health Organisation’s Baby Friendly Initiative and we are currently working towards the global award which is a gold standard for breastfeeding.”
The NHS England report can be read here.
