(Providence, RI) – Women & Infants Hospital is re-designated as a Baby Friendly USA Hospital. This certification recognizes that WIH practices all “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” and the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk substitutes.
“Women & Infants Hospital is proud to continue our designation as a Baby-Friendly USA hospital. This is a significant achievement for our team who works so hard to maintain world-class care for our patients and families,” said Shannon R. Sullivan, president and COO, Women & Infants Hospital. “This re-designation shows our unwavering commitment to ensuring a healthy start for our newborns.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), a global initiative to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding and promote the best, evidence-based feeding practices for all babies.
Women & Infants has proudly been designated as Baby-Friendly since 2015. Care New England’s Kent Hospital is also designated as a Baby-Friendly USA hospital.
About Women & Infants Hospital
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation’s leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. A major teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology, and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women’s medicine, Women & Infants is the ninth largest stand-alone obstetrical service in the country and the largest in New England with approximately 8,700 deliveries per year. Women & Infants is a Designated Baby-Friendly® USA hospital and was recently ranked by Newsweek as one of America's Best Maternity Hospitals in 2024. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology ranked 11 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Medical Schools specialty ranking.
Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiography; a Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high-risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology, and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Maternal Fetal Medicine Units Network, and Pelvic Floors Disorders Network, as well as the National Cancer Institute’s Gynecologic Oncology Group.